Elfen Lied: The Second Verse
by Themulchmeister
Summary: Elfen Lied Season 2 is finally here! Well at least that what this fanfic aims to do...Following the Anime and continuing the Manga storyline as if it was the second season. There will be some divergences and maybe even a surprise twist or two on the way. FINAL OMAKE UPLOADED!
1. Episode 1: Auferstehung

The long awaited sequel to the bloody spectacle that is Elfen Lied has finally risen its head...in fanfic form at least! This fanfic will play out as if another 13 episodes of the Anime were produced from the last third of the Manga (from about ch. 72-109). Of course there will be some divergence from the original Manga as expected, but this should stay fairly true to the canon. After giving people a chance to leave their advice, I've waited long enough and am going out on a limb with this one (pun intended). I do of course have another fantastic accomplice in my gruesome tale: The Layman will be helping me with this one. So with the power of two minds, this will hopefully be a great success and maybe make you laugh, cry or even write a review. 

I've also redone nearly the entire dub cast for the Anime, as well as included some sub and dub voice actors for the new Manga-only characters. I figured it helps give - the new characters especially, a mental sound to each character in the story. So here's the new (hypothetical) Voice Actors for the Second Season (you should look their names up on Wikipedia to find out what else they're in).

Lucy/Nyu: Stephanie Sheh (US); Sanae Kobaysahi (Jap)

Kouta: Yuri Lowenthal (US); Chihiro Suzuki (Jap)

Yuka: Jamie Marchi (US); Mamiko Noto (Jap)

Nana: Karen Strassman (US); Yuki Matsuoka (Jap)

Mayu: Mela Lee (US); Emiko Hagiwara (Jap)

Bandou: Jason Douglas (US); Jouji Nakata (Jap)

Kakuzawa Snr: Andy McAvin (US); Kinryu Arimoto (Jap)

Ms. Arakawa: Kari Wahlgren (US); Eriko Ishihara (Jap)

Nozomi: Cherami Leigh (US); Yuuko Gouto (Jap)

Anna Kakuzawa: Laura bailey (US); Kana Hanazawa (Jap)

Number 28: Caitlin Glass (US); Tomoe Sakuragawa (Jap)

Unknown Man: Crispin Freeman (US); Shou Hayami (Jap)

Dr. Nousou: Ethan Murray (US); Jun Fukuyama (Jap)

The Agent: Colleen Clinkenbeard (US); Yuuko Miyamura (Jap)

Mio*: Wendee Lee (US); Satomi Satou (Jap)

Oh and like any good Anime, there should also be an epic playlist to capture the mood of each scene. Anyway enough with the Author's rant, let's begin the show as we proceed with the First Episode of Elfen Lied's Second Season –_ Elfen Lied: The Second Verse..._

Track 1: Playlist (Most of these can be found on Youtube)

Elfen Lied OP - Lilium

Elfen Lied OST - Yakusouku

Bleach OST 1 - Going Home (acoustic ver.)

Fairy Tail OST 1 - Ghost

Claymore OST - Kokoro no Kizuato

* * *

><p><strong><span>Elfen Lied: The Second Verse<span>**

****Track 1: Auferstehung (********復活********): Resurrection****

_~ "And God said, "Let us make man in Our image – according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creepeth the earth..." Genesis 1:26~_

…

"Wow! Soumen tastes so good! ~_Sugoi!_" Nana remarked with great enthusiasm as she slurped up another bowl full of the cold noodles.

"Settle down Nana, there won't be any left for the rest of us!" Kouta laughed. Nana was just one of the girls Kouta had taken into his home over the last few months. Well, actually the Maple Inn was owned by Yuka's mother and had been entrusted to Kouta to look after the former restaurant, as long as he maintained it and kept it all together. Well they had struggled to keep the whole place in one piece due to a number of shenanigans with a former tenant. Now it seemed things had returned to a sense of normality since she had departed only a few weeks ago. The Maple Inn had felt half as empty since losing that girl several weeks ago. Kouta and the others were still awaiting her return, leaving a spare bowl of noodles to rest on the table as they had done for every meal since she left. As much as he enjoyed the trivial gesture for her, Kouta knew somewhere in his heart that she may never be able to return.

"This Spring weather were having is lovely isn't it?" a young woman named Yuka remarked. Though her mother entrusted the house with Kouta, she decided to live with the young man she had adored for most of her life. Together, Kouta and Yuka were like the Mother and Father in the Kaede Household.

At least that was according to Mayu's definition – one of the other girls who had been taken under Kouta's whim. "Yeah, I think I'll have to take Wanta out for a walk so I don't waste this perfect day," she said to Yuka. Before calling this place home, Mayu had 'lived' on the beach in a tiny wooden shack, exiled from her abusive parents and the rest of the world. She had found happiness in these very warm and welcoming people.

Nana had also lived a life of isolation and exclusion before coming here, but her story was much more darker and cruel. A life of experiments and solitude; her only window of sanity coming from the bespectacled man she had always known as her Papa. Tears streamed down the pink-haired girl's eyes as she remembered her Papa, as well as the young girl who had been his true daughter.

_They can no longer enjoy the wonderfully tasting things in this world..._Nana covered her face as her sadness began to pour. Mayu was always there to comfort her in times like this. Every night since that incident,

Nana would often wake up with nightmares or sad dreams about her Papa and Mariko. Fortunately, Mayu had the personality of an Angel and could always swoop down and save her friend from suffering a deep depression.

"Are you going to be okay Nana?" Yuka leaned across the table to check the poor girl.

"Yeah, I'm fine...Thank you both so much for letting such a bothersome girl stay here," Nana regarded herself with disdain. She would always see herself as a 'burden' for other people; being a horned girl meant a life away from other humans. She felt that by living here she was only causing everyone else more unnecessary trouble.

Kouta dropped his chopsticks with aggression and rose to his feet. "DON'T EVER SAY THAT AGAIN!" Yuka and Mayu were shocked by Kouta's sudden outburst. "Everyone here is family now, nobody is ever left behind. We all work together and contribute to this house, please don't ever say such things again."

Kouta still hadn't gotten over the loss of that girl who had changed his life forever. The one whom he had befriended in his childhood that fateful day eight years ago. The one who would murder his younger sister and father before his very eyes...The girl with horns...

Wanta's yapping ended the brief emotional tension between the five residents of the Maple Inn (Wanta was included on Mayu's demand). "I think someone might be outside." Yuka was about to get up when-

"I'll go answer it." Kouta slipped on some sandals and headed for the courtyard outside.

"I wonder who it could be?" Mayu enquired with the other two girls.

Yuka tapped her chin in thought. "Well, I know my friend Nozomi-chan is supposed to be heading our way soon for her studies, but she didn't mention anything about coming today."

As Kouta went to the front door of the house, he couldn't help but recall those final words by the girl who had transformed his life forever.

"_I promise I'll be home very soon..."_

"She still hasn't fulfilled that promise..." Kouta spoke to himself as he noticed the silhouette hiding behind the sliding doors of the the front entrance. It was the silhouette of a girl close to his own height.

Strangely enough, as he noticed the girl by the door, the grandfather clock in the foyer suddenly started working again. The fact that it had never worked at all since first arriving here struck Kouta as a most odd occurrence, (even after the person who left tried to fix it it had still remained mute), but when he slid open the door to reveal the person behind, his thoughts were moved, much like the springtime breeze, to another place...

Ragged, still wearing the tattered clothes they had gave her to wear that day and with a tiny smile hidden beneath a dirt-caked face. Kouta couldn't hold back the tears when he opened his arms and cried.

"You finally came back Nyu!"

…

"Oh my God! Nyu finally came back!" Yuka nearly fainted with shock when she saw the pink haired girl's return. "Where have you been all this time? We were all so very worried!" She quickly went over and checked the poor girl. "Oh my...your clothes are ruined and your all dirty! Please come inside and have a bath."

Mayu and Nana were still at the table when the girl named Nyu came inside. As soon as they saw the pink-haired girl's face they both jumped on their feet. Mayu was happy to see Nyu-san again and smiled calmly. Nana on the other hand...

"Lucy!" She nearly wrestled her fellow pink-haired kin to the ground with a massive hug. "You made everyone here so sad! How dare you make everyone worry, especially me..." Nana sobbed into Nyu's tattered clothes. Though herself and the girl she knew as Lucy both tried to kill each other, it seemed Nana was much more forgiving to the girl who had saved her from a fame-struck scientist named Isobe just before her disappearance.

"Why does Nana call Nyu-san Lucy?" Yuka wondered. "Oh never mind! Let's just get you cleaned up and changed into some fresh clothes."

Kouta hadn't had the chance to ask Nyu the burning questions he still had for her after all those weeks apart. The girls had all been overcome with joy for Nyu's return. He scratched his head and looked over towards the clock that was ticking away as good as new.

_Nyu...I still have much to discuss with you..._

…

"See? Isn't that much better?" Yuka poured a bucket of warm water over Nyu's soapy body. "I can't believe you've been away for so long, how did you find this place again anyway?" Yuka kept asking the girl questions as she scrubbed over more of her body.

Meanwhile Nana and Mayu were watching over Nyu from the bath. "Nyu-san hasn't said anything since she came back." Mayu picked up the pink-haired girl's lack of enthusiasm since coming back. "Normally she'd at least say 'Nyu' by now.

Nana noticed something different about Nyu as well. "Oh no! What happened to Nyu-san's horns?" Addressing her by the name the Maple Inn residents gave her to spare any future awkwardness.

Yuka combed through Nyu's hair like a mother looking for hair-lice. "You're right, they appear to have fallen off or something! Do you think she'll be okay without them?"

Nana rested her chin on the edge of the bath. "Hmm, I'm not really sure...Normally in this kind of scenario Nana would ask Pap-" Nana suddenly threw her head into the hot water, hiding her tears from the others.

_Papa...Even the little things make Nana sad...Would you hate me if you saw me crying right now?_

"I wonder where Nyu-san has been staying all this time?" Mayu wanted to know. Being a former runaway herself, she wondered how Nyu must have survived in the harsh environment alone without anyone to protect her or keep her warm. Mayu knew that she could survive when Wanta was with her, but Nyu-san must have borne all the elements by herself.

Yuka turned Nyu around and began scrubbing her back. "Well maybe Nyu-san is still troubled from being away for so long. Perhaps she'll open up to us later." When Yuka finished she lifted Nyu back to her feet and started drying her with the towel. "There we go!" She spoke to her as if dealing with a child. "I think it would be for the best if we let Nyu-san rest for a while."

Nana couldn't help but notice one more thing that was different about Lucy. She could no longer feel the murderous presence within the girl, but could this person really be Nyu? She didn't bear any traits of either of the two split-egos that made up this girl. But the thing that bothered Nana the most was the rather sullen expression on her face, as if the girl was mourning over some sort of loss. But what could she possibly be grieving over? She hadn't lost someone dear to her heart like Nana had...So what was it that made Nyu appear so down?

…

Kakuzawa rarely left the underground pond these days. This was his new domain as he awaited the queen's return. This place was the Eden of the new age of humanity – in his eyes at least. The grotto appeared to the observers eye as a mere pile of rubble and standing stones arranged miscellaneously. If it weren't for the small body of turbid water in the centre of the grotto, the place may have substituted for a form of hell on Earth. The place was more humid than a hundred saunas and the air pressure was high enough to give people nosebleeds – well one person at least...

"Aww...It stinks in here...Why don't we put up some nice decorations or something? Maybe an air freshener or two..." a fool-hearted scientist named Arakawa walked over towards the chief of the Diclonius Research Facility.

"Ah, you're finally here..." Kakuzawa turned away from the pond and faced the glasses-wearing female scientist. "How's the virus development proceeding?"

Arakawa held her nose to prevent another nosebleed. "So-so I guess...I really need more space and resources...Plus I could really do with a shower – doesn't this place have any facilities for humans?"

Kakuzawa ignored the scientist's trivial concerns and faced the pond again. "Isn't it beautiful, behold the Lebensborn project in its most gracious form."

Arakawa shuffled over in her usual sandals and lab coat attire and scanned her eyes around the pond nervously. "I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be seeing here," she spoke, her voice sounding nasally.

Kakuzawa pointed directly into the centre of the pond. "The Oracle of this Eden...The 'uterus' of the new humanity...The 'Shintai' of the Lebensborn..."

"Enough with the abstract stuff...just what the hell am I supposed to be...Oh shit..." Arakawa slid back as she noticed a huge dark shadow in the middle of the artificial pond. It was as if the Loch Ness Monster had been shipped over to live here in the facility. Two large crescent's appeared in the middle of the shadow like tiny moons being reflected on the surface of the water. "Just what the hell is that thing?" The timid scientist shuddered.

Kakuzawa chuckled lightly as he gazed at Arakawa with demon eyes. "She is my daughter...and she is the 'embryo' of a God..."

…

As everyone finally sat down together for dinner, Yuka and the others were still troubled by Nyu's rather odd behaviour. Kouta didn't appear to share the same concerns as the others, but that was only because he was saving his opportunity to speak with Nyu for a more private occasion. Kouta finished his serving first and then left the table.

Yuka couldn't help but frown over Kouta's silence as well. Today was supposed to be a special occasion, yet nobody appeared to be any happier since Nyu's return...Perhaps, Yuka thought, that those happy faces she saw earlier, were merely a very brief honeymoon period of excitation.

…

"Goodnight Mayu, goodnight Nana," Yuka called over to the two young girls from the doorway. To her they were like her own children, so she would always make sure to say goodnight before going to bed. Yuka was still bothered bothered by Nyu's return. It had been great to finally see her again, and as much as she didn't like the pink haired girl at times she had gotten used to her presence at the Inn; but this uncharacteristic sullenness Nyu was employing wasn't what Yuka expected at all. She'd been missing for at least four weeks, what if something had happened to her while she was gone? Anything could have happened to her while she was outside on her own; what if she had been assaulted, or maybe...

"Nyu-chan? Yuka peered her head over towards the room where Nyu would be sleeping. She noticed the pink haired girl was sitting on the edge of her mattress leaning over someone, wrapping her arms around that person like a monkey...sobbing into their chest and breathing on their face...

Yuka had always been jealous of Kouta, whenever he was seen to being intimate with Nyu. Even after all this time, she could still not remove those feelings of anger and bitterness whenever she saw those two together. She knew that Kouta should be holding her like that, and consoling with her in such a comforting way; but why was Kouta always turning to Nyu?...

"I'm so stupid..." Yuka began sobbing quietly to herself. She braced herself against the wall, but slid to the floor when her legs decided not to support the new weight she gained, "Why did she ever have to come back?"

…

Kouta held Nyu tight in his arms, not ever wanting to let her go again. Even though he now knew the kind of things this girl had done to his family, he still couldn't bear to see her say goodbye again. He also had much more he wanted to ask her, about her past and why she had to kill his younger and father eight years ago.

"Kouta..." Nyu was finally able to speak when around the young man. "I'm sorry..."

"You don't need to apologise. For now at least, I'm relieved to see you're not hurt and speaking again." Kouta clutched the girl tightly, "I just need you to tell me more about-"

"No, Kouta, what I mean is..." Nyu averted her gaze trying to think of something. "Nyu doesn't remember anything about those things you said from eight years ago...

* * *

><p><strong>Elfen Lied: The Second Verse <strong>- Episode 2 Preview

_"Maybe I should consider leaving the Maple Inn..."_

_"His name wasn't even disclosed to the Director or anyone here."_

_"PICK UP YOUR TRASH BEFORE I MAKE YOU JOIN IT!"_

_"This is Nozomi-chan, the girl I was talking about before."_

_"~NYU!"_

When old wounds resurface, how does one heal the troubles of the past? When bonds are formed with evil, how does one escape their fate? When one wishes to become God, who will stop their madness? Don't miss the next episode of Elfen Lied: The Second Verse


	2. Episode 2: Angst

**Disclaimer: Reading fanfiction for long periods of time can adversely effect your health. For OHS reasons we ask that you sit in a well lit room with a fair distance between yourself and the screen. Also make sure you apply the appropriate ergonomic principles for your posture when sitting at your desk. Great now we can get on with the show!**

**Many thanks once again to The Layman for the great editing job for such a long chapter.**

Track 2: Playlist (This time I thought I'd mix it up with some music other than OSTs)

Proyecto Oniric - La Fragile Mort

Draconian - The Cry Of Silence (7-min. ver.)

Puella Magi Madoka Magica OST 1 - Clementia

Fairy Tail OST 1 - Mirajane Theme

Bleach OST 3 - No Regresar

Puella Magi Madoka Magica OST 1 - Desiderium

The Darkness - English Country Garden

Ikkitousen OST - Gothic Horror

Bleach OST 2 - 999

* * *

><p><strong>Track 2: Angst (不安): Anxiety<strong>

_~Ahh...Nyu-san...I can't help but wonder, what if she knew she has slain dozens of people in unimaginable ways. I love this house. I always wanted to be here. But...I know the truth...I know this happiness cannot last forever...~_

_..._

_"Nyu doesn't remember anything about those things you said from eight years ago..."_

Kouta was initially struck by surprise to hear Nyu's response, but then a thought struck him. "Of course...you must be in Nyu mode again." Previous events, such as the encounter on the shrine staircase and her bout of illness, made Kouta wonder why Nyu acted like a different person sometimes. Just before Nyu disappeared, when she came to tell him goodbye, she'd all but told him she was two different people, confirming his suspicions. Even though Nyu had barely spent one night in the Maple Inn since her return, Kouta had already taken to naming her different states. However, he wasn't intending on sharing his revelation and Nyu's dark past with the rest of his makeshift family – at least not until he was ready. "Though I'm surprised you're able to suddenly talk so well..."

"Huh?" Nyu crawled over to hear him better.

Kouta smiled weakly, "Uh...Never mind. I'll just have to speak about my feelings another time." Kouta stood up, heading towards the doorway, "Sorry for bothering you so much, just take it easy and rest for now, ne?"

But before Kouta could leave Nyu called him back. "I don't remember if I hurt anyone in the past like you mentioned, but if I had ever done something to hurt Kouta then Nyu is very, very sorry!"

Kouta walked back over to Nyu, brushing back her pink locks, "I could never be angry with Nyu, as long as you stay as Nyu, then Kouta will be happy."

Nyu's eyes were filling with tears of happiness, "Kouta! Nyu likes...Nyu likes Kouta." She spoke in a more childish voice as she wrapped her arms around the boy she adored.

"Alright, settle down Nyu." Kouta patted the back of her shoulder softly, "You were sounding really intelligent before." Kouta gently pushed Nyu back so he could leave her to rest for the night. "Goodnight Nyu, I'm glad to see your wonderful smile again..." As Kouta shut the door he noticed something lying on the floor just outside of Nyu's room. He picked the object up, discovering that it was in fact the necklace that he had given to Yuka as a present only a few weeks ago. The sea shell that was supposed to be attached to it was also missing.

_Yuka? What is the meaning of this...?_

…

On a lonely and cold beach, Yuka's tears splashed down on her closed fist. She opened her palm to reveal the pink sea shell that Kouta had picked out for her the last time they came here.

"_Look at this one...doesn't it remind you of the ones Kanae used to collect for me? How about we go and have it made into a necklace? I think it'd look really pretty on you Yuka."_

"_Really? That sounds wonderful. I'll cherish this for the rest of my life."_

Yuka grit her teeth in anger as she lobbed the shell back into the ocean, demoting it to rest among the rest of the assorted ocean jewels.

...

"Okay, sorry to bother you at this time." Kouta hung up the phone after calling Yuka's mother, "No good, she's not at her own home." Kouta slipped on some shoes and looked outside, "Where could she have wandered off to at this hour of the night?"

...

Back on the beach, Yuka leaned back against a solitary boulder. The small waves crashing and flowing back out to sea providing the only other sound in this tranquil atmosphere as she cried silently.

_Kouta...I've always had feelings for you since early childhood...But I was too afraid of what you would say if I expressed my true feelings towards you...Is it because we're cousins, or is it because I'm always hitting you when you act out of line...Or am I just plain compared to Nyu?... _Yuka's tears suddenly rained down in torrents of anguish, she held her palms to her eyes to stop the flooding grief from drowning her own body. "Kouta, what is it I have to do...Why can I never compete with the other girls? Why do you always have to make me cry like this?"

Yuka sniffed and wiped away some of her tears as she gazed out towards the peaceful ocean. The reflective plane allowed her to reflect on her own resolve.

"Maybe I should consider leaving the Maple Inn..."

…

Nyu had already drifted off to sleep after Kouta left. Standing over her bedside was another pink-haired girl, her invisible hands hovering over Nyu, encircling her tender neck. Her hands could deliver the fatal blow and end a life in an instant.

_Should I finish her off now while she's like this? If I were to end her life now, I could save everyone here from any more suffering. Would that make you happy Papa...? Would you have praised Nana if I killed Lucy now? After all, if it wasn't for her then you...wouldn't have had to die..._

Nana cried softly as she contemplated her decision.

…

"_Ohayou, Kouta-kun." _

"_Aww...I'm so tired..."_

"_Come on Honey, your breakfast will get cold and you'll be late for work."_

"_How silly of me...Whatever would I do without my lovely Yuka?"_

_...  
><em>

"_Isn't the festival just wonderful?"_

"_It sure is...but not as lovely as you are, my darling Yuka."_

"_Aww...Kouta~..."_

_...  
><em>

"_Damn it I broke the thing again..."_

"_Aww.~ Now come on Kouta, let me show you how it's done!...See my splendid figurines."_

"_Gee, I could never compete with that..."_

"_C'mon. Let's go see the sea!"_

_...  
><em>

"_This shore has been the place of so many happy memories, hasn't it?"_

"_I'd be the happiest person in the world if you married me Yuka."_

"_Really?"_

"_Of course! We could even have our wedding right here."_

"_...Then...That would make me the happiest person in the world too!"_

…

"*Hic*...I'm so stupid. I could never dream of such happiness anymore...*sniff*" Yuka was about to depart the beach, leaving her dreams of being with the one she loved amongst the many grains of sand and many drops of water that made up the ocean when-

"I thought you might end up here." A rather relieved Kouta had appeared before her, "What are you doing out here alone at this time of night? And what is the meaning of this?"

Kouta held up the broken chain of her necklace

Yuka couldn't bring her eyes up to see the one she had once loved. "I'm not going back, you can stop pretending to feel sorry for me now."

Kouta was confused and there was a slight tone in his voice that felt like he had just been insulted. "Wait a minute, what are you saying?"

Yuka began to walk around him, not giving him the dignity of even looking at his face. "I'm leaving for good; I should have known I was only a fill-in until Nyu came back. Goodbye, Kouta."

Kouta tried grabbing Yuka by the arm, "Now hang on-"

Yuka pulled back when Kouta tried to grab her arm and was about to swipe him with her other arm when he blocked the strike and leaned towards her with a kiss. Yuka's anger suddenly seemed to cool down after feeling his warm lips press against hers.

"You shouldn't scare me like that, _ahou_," he said after he broke the kiss, "Do you realise how worried I was when you left? Do you understand how devastated I would be if something were to happen to you?"

Yuka quivered with bewilderment, "K-Kouta, what are you-"

Kouta let go of Yuka's violent arm and held her with a much more affectionate embrace. "What could possibly make you feel like wanting to leave the Maple Inn?"

Yuka continued her sobs as she rested her head against Kouta's shoulder, "I saw you with Nyu. I know she likes you, and I know you must think she's better than me and..."

Kouta stepped back, parting Yuka's hair as he gazed into her cousin's sparkling eyes. "That's enough now...Come on, there are people waiting for us back at the Maple Inn."

Yuka smiled as she began closing her eyes and resting on Kouta's chest. "Say, Kouta...Can I stay here with you, dreaming like this for a little while longer?"

…

Nana banged her head against the wall as she continued her own cries of anguish. She rolled tear streamed eyes towards Nyu who was still sound asleep, completely unaware of Nana's presence – completely unaware of how close she may have been to an eternal slumber.

_I'm sorry Papa...I just can't seem to fulfil your wishes..._

…

_THE NEXT DAY..._

"Wow, you make a fabulous breakfast Yuka-san!" Conveniently enough, Nana's troubles always seemed to fade whenever she ate one of Yuka's meals.

Kouta murmured something as he lifted his bowl in front of his mouth, "Eh...It's alright I guess."

Little flames ignited in Yuka's eyes, "Well you don't have to eat anymore if it ain't good enough for ya'."

Mayu put out Yuka's flames by changing the topic, "Thanks for the breakfast Yuka-san! Is it alright if I give the rest the Wanta?"

Yuka smiled, showing her tamer side, "Of course."

"Thanks!~ I think I'll take Wanta for a walk as well," Mayu declared as she left with a portion of the leftovers in a small plastic container. _"Come on Wanta!"_

Nyu finished her helping and sighed with contentment. Kouta noticed that she still wasn't saying an awful lot in front of the others. _Perhaps she only feels comfortable speaking in front of me now? But then, why would she feel such a way?_

Yuka added some conversation to the quiet table, "By the way Kouta, I heard from my friend; she just got in this morning and she'll coming over around lunchtime."

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that. Wasn't she like an old friend of yours from somewhere?"

"She's a good friend from Junior High School," Yuka explained, "she wants to come over here so she can practice her singing." Yuka unconsciously clenched her fist, "Apparently her father's a real hard-ass and doesn't approve of her studies..."

"_I think I know how she must feel," _Kouta murmured, sparking the antennae in Yuka's hair.

"Nani?" She balled her fist in anger

"Oh, nothing..." Kouta shifted his eyes away slyly.

"Well, anyways, could you go and get some sweets for tea later?" Yuka chirped as she collected the dishes.

"Well I suppose I don't have a choice in the matter anyway," Kouta said, a bit too loudly.

**"****NANI?****"** The flames in Yuka's eyes burst into wild infernos.

"~Nothing! I'll be back soon, 'kay?" He backed slowly out of the room, keeping the demon in his sights at all times lest she smite him from behind.

Yuka surprisingly reverted back to her motherly mode once Kouta had left. She noticed Nyu sitting next to Nana quietly and sulking worriedly. She then turned to Nana, who sat rigidly as if waiting for sergeant's orders. "Say, Nana, why don't you and Nyu start cleaning the floorboa-"

"Yes ma'am!" Nana launched from her seat while dragging the other girl behind her, eliciting a cry of '_Nyuuu!' _from the pink haired former absentee. Yuka sighed, letting both her shoulders and head slump.

_At least Nozomi-chan will bring some normality to this place... _she thought as she finished collecting the dishes.

…

Mayu dashed down the scores of stairs that led from the Maple Inn. Wanta ran ahead of her as she held the bento box in one hand.

"Hurry Wanta, let's get down to the beach quickly!" Mayu didn't tell the others at the Inn who she was really giving the leftovers to. _That man must be hungry by now...But I can't tell Yuka and Kouta about him! At least, not yet..._

Mayu was rushing so freely that she didn't notice the other girl walking up the stairs towards the house.

The other girl shifted herself up the stairs; slowly and quite nervously, as if she was hiding something. She produced a small piece of paper, a very roughly sketched map, and studied it one last time; the destination had been illustrated with a square kitty face with the word 'here' written in Katakana.

"_Umm...Oh boy...Am I going the right way? I probably should have asked that girl...But she was too fast...oh...well I guess this should be right? Right?"_

Kouta appeared to be walking down the steps from the same direction that Mayu had come from. "*Sigh*, Yuka rules that house with an iron fist...and I've ended up as her slave... But I suppose being in a harem does have its benefits, I guess..." Kouta bit his tongue when he noticed the girl walking towards him. _Shimatta! I hope she didn't hear me..._Kouta slumped his shoulders and tried to get past without saying any more embarrassing things.

_"Um...Pardon me...Um..." _Kouta paused when he thought he heard a faint voice coming from behind. He turned back and faced the girl – possibly college age like himself, he noted – wearing a white and red sailor fuku uniform, with thick locks of long black hair. _"Um...The way...please..."_

Kouta leaned forward, putting his foot on another step up, "I'm sorry, could you speak up a bit? I can't hear you."

Suddenly a fresh breeze cast over the area; the wind lifting up the girl's frilly red skirt and revealing something quite unexpected underneath.

"AHH!" The timid girl quickly pushed her skirt back down before scurrying away up the stairs. Unfortunately for her sake she had given Kouta another chance to confirm what he thought he had seen underneath her uniform.

_An adult girl...Who wears nappies?_

…

Down on the sandy shores of Enoshima Beach, Mayu looked out for the man she had been giving meals to everyday for the last month.

Mayu knelt down to pet her best friend. "Come on Wanta! Let's find him...After all, he never leaves this place."

The man they were after was not too hard to find. He stood out before anyone else unfortunate enough to wander to close to him on this sandy strip of land he called his domain. Burly with the figure of a warrior, wearing a green jacket, brown trousers and orange tinted shades. He could be seen roughing another pair of beach-goers as he held a large pair of tongs and a garbage bag in the other hand.

"GODDAMIT STOP THROWIN' YER SHIT ON THIS BEACH! NOW PICK UP YOUR TRASH BEFORE I MAKE YOU FUCKING JOIN IT!"

"Leave my boyfriend alone!" the poor fellow's partner came over to save him.

"Tch!" The large man threw the smaller man back onto the ground. "Lucky you had your girlfriend here to save you this time, buddy. Now fucking scram the two of you! NOW!"

The man scrambled back to his feet as he reached for his girlfriend before they made a desperate break for the mainland.

"Umm...Bando-san?" Mayu calmly approached the angry man, "Here's today's leftovers for you."

The much larger figure towered over the tiny middle-schooler, yet Mayu had become acquainted with this man over the last couple of months ever since she first met him on this very beach. "Grr...Why do you keep giving me food anyway?" Bando swiped the container and quickly dug in. "I mean what do you take me for, a pet dog or something?"

Mayu shifted her gaze, "Well it _was _Wanta's leftovers, but..."

"Plsshhh!" he spat out the bite he was taking before regarding the young girl with an expression that was more hurt than angry, "WHAT THE HELL?"

Mayu laughed as she laughed in her innocent childlike manner. "Hehe, just kidding Bando-san!~"

Bando cursed under his breath as he averted his gaze, showing a much more bashful expression on his otherwise thick-skinned face. "Well...anyway...thanks for the grub kid. Yeah..." He ruffed her small head of hair as he resumed his beach cleaning duties.

"That's okay! See you tomorrow Bando-san." Mayu humbly bowed as she skipped back along the beach on her way back home.

Bando sighed as he noticed the tiny girl leave. Picking up another empty tin can he turned back towards the reflective ocean. _Goddamit...I must be getting too soft these days...Well I can't help it since she did save my life I guess..._

…

From the hallway Nana could hear Yuka's friend come inside. She had just finished wiping the bedroom floors and was now about to clean the long corridors using her favourite method.

"HYAH!" Nana cast off as she sprinted down the long corridor, pushing the cloth along the smooth surface as if skiing on her hands. Nyu was puzzled by Nana's strange behaviour and watched on in amusement.

Nana planted herself on the ground when she reached the end of the hallway. She turned back and noticed an idle Nyu, "C'mon Nyu-san, didn't you use to love doing this?" _If she really is Nyu-san and not Lucy, then I can at least confirm it with this._

Nyu placed a finger in her mouth like a confused pre-schooler. Nana groaned and stormed her way back across the hallway, "Here, just kneel down and put your hands in front of you, just like a dog or a cat would do." Nana guided Nyu's hands onto the cloth. "See, it's simple! Now you just go ahead in a straight line to the end of the hallway," said said as if addressing a pre-schooler.

Nyu hesitated at first, possibly embarrassed at the thought of running in such an awkward position, but she wanted to help out whatever way she could and so obligingly ran across the floor with the cloth.

"Say, Nyu-san..." Nana said as Nyu returned, twisting on her foot nervously, "Nana still wants everyone here to be happy. So if your being here makes them happy, then Nana will be happy too."

Nyu looked up at Nana's reddened face before she smiled to acknowledge Nana's words.

Nana smiled as well, blushing a little. She moved aside as she began cleaning the walls. She mumbled something casually, "Y'know, you could say a word or two now and then, I liked it when you used to say 'Nyu' all the time."

"Okay," Nyu said just as casually.

Nana nodded her head, deeply engaged in her chores. After a few seconds it kicked in what had just happened. She dropped the cloth and faced Nyu. "You just spoke!" she cried, pointing emphatically.

Nyu stood proudly as she held her arms behind her back. "Yeah, if it makes you happy, then I'll try and be more open with the others."

Nana grabbed Nyu's shoulders and started shaking her, "Oh my God, you can even speak properly as well! We all thought you might have suffered brain damage since your horns are missing!"

Nyu blinked in confusion, "Horns?"

Nana wiped back her joyous tears with her sleeve, "Oh never mind. C'mon, let's show Yuka how talented you are now!" Nana grabbed Nyu's hand and ran her towards the dining room where Yuka was speaking with her friend visitor. Nana beamed with delight, "Hey Yuka-san, Nyu just-"

Nana noticed Yuka was in the middle of comforting her friend who appeared rather upset over something. "There-there, it's alright...Don't worry about it, it's not a huge deal anyway."

Nana tilted her head to one side. "Huh? What's wrong with her?" she asked in a rather rude manner.

"Nozomi-chan says that a man saw her- what was it again? _'Secret_' panties?" She leaned her head back down towards Nozomi, who cupped her face in her hands, weeping silently. "Aw, cheer up

Nozmi-chan, I doubt you'll ever see that pervert again anyway."

"What are 'secret' panties?" Nana inquired. "Well who cares, I came to tell you Nyu-san has-"

Nana was interrupted again by the opening of a sliding door. "Oh, it looks like Kouta's back." Yuka lifted her head, "Now we can finally have tea."

"Tadaima!" Kouta said as he made his way back into the dining room. "I got everything here," he held up the plastic bag full of cakes and biscuits.

"Thanks Kouta!" Yuka grabbed her friend so she could properly introduce her, "This is Nozomi-chan, the girl I was talking about before."

When Nozomi lifted her gaze to see Kouta her eyes widened and her jaw quivered anxiously. _"Oh, no...You were...Uh...Oh boy..."_

Kouta noticed it was the girl from before. _She's Nozomi-chan? Uh oh..._

"Wait a minute..." Yuka began to deduce, "Would I be correct to assume that _you_ were the one who saw Nozomi-chan's panties?"

Kouta scratched his head, as if answering a group of interrogators from the CIA; all that was missing was the dark room and the blinding lamp, "Well, I uh..."

"**KOUTA..."** The demon was awakening again.

Throughout the brief distraction Nozomi quickly slipped away and made flight. "Nozomi-chan!" Yuka tried to call the girl back but she was already gone. "Great, we got ourselves another runner in the Maple Inn."

"That wasn't very nice thing to say Yuka, I thought she was your friend."

"Of course she is!" Yuka defended herself. "Why'd you have to go look at her panties anyway, baka?" Yuka started checking around the rooms of the lower floor. "She gets upset over the smallest of things," she said her more motherly tone of concern.

Meanwhile Nana grumbled as she noticed everyone busily searching for the girl. "Mou... Alright Nyu, let's go help them look for this girl so we can tell 'em about your speech."

Nyu nodded sharply, "Hai."

…

Nozomi had wandered outside near a decorated garden pond. She bit her hand nervously as she continued mumbling softly to herself. _"Oh boy...This is bad...why is he here? Now my secret will surely be revealed..." _She felt something underneath her skirt and quickly looked at her nappy. _"Is it nothing? Is it nothing?" _She prayed to herself as she slowly pulled apart the adult diaper.

"Nozomi-chan?" She had been discovered in an even more embarrassing predicament by the same boy.

"KYAH!" She yelped as she threw down the nappy to the ground with a wet thud.

Kouta covered his eyes for some humble self-censorship, "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to see anything, but..." Kouta slowly opened his eyes again, his vision locked on the wet cloth on the ground.

"_Agh!"_ Nozomi squealed quietly as she quickly picked up the nappy. In her rushed panic, she didn't realise that in doing so she had thrown the wet contents onto her uniform._"Agh! I was seen! I was seen!" _Believing that she had truly been defeated, Nozomi began weeping softly to herself again.

Kouta was too embroiled in his own wild thoughts to say anything. _This girl, she seems so pure and talented...yet she cries over some pee...Wait a minute! What the hell's going on here...And why is this turning me on? Yuka's right, I really am a bit F-ed up..._

"_I'm so sorry...I'm such a bad girl..." _Nozomi continued mumbling to Kouta, revealing soft glistening eyes. _"Due to my cowardice I occasionally pee...my father is always embarrassed about me and...I try so hard, cramming and all...but in the end...this is what I do when I get anxious..."_

Nyu suddenly appeared from around the pond, she had separated from the others looking for Nozomi. She noticed Nozomi's wet uniform and picked up her obvious signs of sadness and despair. She whispered in Kouta's ear, "Is she upset because she's wet her clothes?"

But before Kouta could answer the other two had come out from behind Nozomi. "Oh there you are!" Yuka beamed, "We've been looking all over for you."

Nozomi sobbed as she looked down at her stained chest. _"Oh no...my secret has been leaked out...Once Yuka-chan knows it will be the end for me..."_

Kouta felt like he had to do something to save Nozomi's secret from being revealed. He noticed the pond she was standing beside and figured he had no other option. __Yuka's going to throw a statue on me after this one...__he thought morosely.

But just before he could go through with his plan, someone else had already picked up the idea and beat him too it.

"NYU!" Yuka scolded the pink haired troublemaker as she had tackled Nozomi, causing both Nozomi and herself to land in the shallow pond, "What on earth did you do that for?"

Nyu smiled as if she had done a good deed for someone. She turned to Nozomi and said in a cheery voice, "See now I'm all wet too so there's nothing to be sad about!"

Kouta also had a sly smile wrapped around his face as he came over and pulled Nozomi out of the water. "Being a coward can't be helped, but at least you don't have be afraid while you're here."

Yuka helped Nyu out of the water and sighed. "Great, now I'll have to wash both your clothes." __So much for normality... Wait a minute, was Nyu just talking?__

Nana, whilst confused at first of Nyu's antics, also felt quite relieved. _That's the good old Nyu again!_

…

MEANWHILE...DICLONII RESEARCH FACILITY:

Horned-humans. That was what they were colloquially referred to in the offshore research facility. Both Nyu and Nana possessed memories of this place – with Nyu spending eight years of her brief life in this dank prison, and Nana effectively growing up in this place.

Nyu, who had been named Lucy by the scientists who run the facility, had managed to escape the horrible conditions she had suffered by cutting through a horde of guards just a few months ago. Nana had also escaped, though her flight was through less violent methods. Ironically, both could credit humans for assisting their release into the free world – though the two horned-humans had rather contrasting methods of expressing such appreciation.

Horned-humans were formally referred to as Diclonius. Hence the isolated facility had been established to discover as much as possible about the latent characteristics of these variant homo-sapiens as well as analyse the virus pathogens which the Diclonii were known to transfer through their invisible hands – vectors.

At least that was the facility's supposed intention. However the Director of the facility had a far more wicked ambition for the aggregation of Diclonius research.

Most of the other workers at the facility rarely saw the Director. Normally he would either be holed up in his office, taking more calls from the Japanese government defending his calls for increased public funds; or – as he appeared to be more often recently, residing in the sealed off underground chamber known only by a select few in the higher ranks as the place of the 'Lebensborn Project'.

"Hey, do you have the latest results for the vector virus tests?" one of the hundred or so workers who lived and worked in the facility asked his co-worker.

"Not just yet, the incubation period will take another seventy hours." The other worker looked past his shoulder as the two were walking down the brightly-lit tiled corridor. "Say, did you hear about this creepy guy the Director is sending in to help find Lucy?"

"I know," the first man said with some concern in his voice. "I mean, we work around monsters all the time but this guys clearly a basket case on his own according to what the others have said."

"Yeah, his name wasn't even disclosed to the Director or anyone here. He has to be a real creep if the Director hired such an anonymous person."

The two workers made their way around a corner leading to the main virus lab. "Well I suppose the Director must be desperate to get Lucy back."

The second researcher sighed as they reached a row of doorways to various offices and smaller labs. "I agree, you'd need to rely on a real monster to catch a Diclonius such as her."

"**And a good day to the two of you too,"** a deep and foreboding voice carried across the corridors, causing the two workers to face their backs in surprise.

"W-who was that?" One of them asked to his equally startled co-worker.

"That was...pretty creepy just now. C'mon, let's head to the lab."

"Agreed!"

The two men froze when they saw the pair of black boots, barely visible by the long black coat, crunching along the floor with each step outside the main lab. Judging by the mere length of the shadow alone, they could already tell who they were dealing with. "**Excuse me but I'm looking for the head researcher for the vector virus...I believe her name is Ms Arakawa?**"

…

"BANZAI!" Kouta raised his glass in a toast as they held a small welcoming party for Nozomi. Kouta was happy to see another female face in the household and Yuka was equally stoked to see her friend smiling again.

Nozomi blushed as she held her drink in two hands, "Umm...Thanks a lot for everything. I should be able to focus on my studies here without always worrying about what Father will say."

Kouta cheered, "Don't mention it, you'll fit in here no problem at all!"

Suddenly Nozomi shuffled her legs nervously. Kouta hoped she wasn't about to wet herself though. "Thanks for the great hospitality, but I think I should go now."

Yuka and Kouta both sighed in disappointment. "Eh? You don't have to leave. You're more than welcome to stay over," Kouta declared. "Heck you could even live here too. We have plenty of rooms and I'm sure you'd make a great addition to the house's make-up."

Yuka gazed over at Kouta looking unsure, "It would be great for Nozomi-chan to live here for a while but her father might not approve."

Nozomi shifted her eyes towards both Kouta and Yuka before she made her decision. "I could really stay here? I guess it would be more practical while I'm studying. I hope I won't be a burden on anyone though."

Kouta walked over and gave Nozomi a friendly pat on the shoulder, "Of course not. Were all kinda like family here anyway so no one would ever regard you in such a way."

Nozomi put down her cup and sunk her head, her black locks trailing across the table. "Please excuse me for a minute," Nozomi uttered as she made her way out of the dining room.

Yuka shared awkward glances with the other girls, "Do you think she might be upset again?"

Kouta smirked as he answered her cousin, "Nah, I think she'll be right." _On the other hand, ___I can see why she might have wet herself though, getting all excited and stuff...__

"By the way Kouta, what were Nozomi's secret panties?" Yuka threw out a random question.

"Eh! Why do you need to know?" Kouta stammered.

"I dunno, I guess I'm just curious."

"Well, do you really have to know? I mean it's probably just a name she gave them or something."

Nana couldn't help but admire the banter that went on along the dinner table. Everyone was finally happy. With Nyu-san back and a new tenant, the Maple Inn was in better shape than it had ever been. And with Nyu's horns missing, perhaps Nyu would stay as Nyu forever.

_Maybe..._Nana thought, if so, then that meant everyone: Kouta, Yuka, Nyu, Nozomi, Mayu and Wanta, could all live in happiness forever as well. If only, Nana desired, everyone could enjoy this peace and things remained like this - never having to change.

**Unfortunately, life doesn't stagnate; it moves forward, and not always in a direction we might like...**

* * *

><p><strong>Elfen Lied: The Second Verse -<strong> Episode 3 Preview

_"Isn't this Winter weather we're having just so beautiful."_

_"If I win, you will be my pleasure slave_."

_"I just hope we don't run into that assistant lady today_."

_"Number 28 has been selected...She appears to be the most competent..."_

_**"Well now...Where did Lucy go?**"_

The gears of time turn slowly...But the gears will eventually rust and break - we cannot control our fate. After a honeymoon of peace, old conflicts will inevitably raise their ugly heads; and the demons who try to pilfer our soul will emerge. Don't miss next weeks episode of _Elfen Lied: The Second Verse!_


	3. Episode 3: Fahndung

**Damn! I've had type the Playlist, Preview and Title up twice now. It has taken me till 1AM to get this chapter up. I couldn't get this published any earlier now. So far I must acknowledge The Layman and Wolfman6696 for reviewing and following my story. It's a shame I haven't anymore followers yet, but if I get some more reviews or alerts, I might even try and put up 2eps for the week.**

**This fanfic - as I've mentioned numerous times, is an 'Anime' version of the rest of the Manga of Elfen Lied (Thus a 2nd Season with 13eps). As with any Anime, some parts of the story are left out or altered, and some things are added in to add a touch of uniqueness to the different media. I brought this up again because I've decided to put in an OC for this episode and I know how most people generally react towards OCs. Taking advice from my Assisstant Director: The Layman, we decided to squeeze our budget a bit more and hire top voice actor Wendee Lee for the Dub role of this new character (For the sub I would personally cast Satomi Satou who also happens to play a forehead-exposed character in _K-ON!_)**

**If you haven't read the preview I had up before this story you won't know that I already came up with some VA's for the other Manga-only cast members. So in case you forgot, Nozomi is done by Yuuko Gouto (Mikuru Asahina from _Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya_) and Cherami Leigh (Hibiki from _Sekirei_) and The Unknown Man also stretches the budget with Crispen Freeman (c'mon you know that guy...) for the dub and a slight change for the sub as I just realised George Nakata already plays Bandou - so I think Shou Hayami (Aizen from _Bleach_) should cut it.**

Track 3 Playlist

Witchblade OST - LADY

Richard Stoltzman - Maid with the Flaxen Hair

Elfen Lied OST - Hanayou

Elfen Lied OST - Jouzai

Elfen Lied OST - Ametsuyu

Higurashi OST - Main Theme

Elfen Lied OST - Heji (pretty much for the remaining third of the chapter)

And in case you needed another one...

Hellsing OST - From 666 to 777

* * *

><p><strong>Track 3: Fahndung (検索): Searching for...<br>**

_~In my childhood...I dreamed of becoming a great scientist that would be recorded among the greatest people...but this isn't about the record of the greatest...It's about the Bible...I'm a bit sorry about this, Gramps...But the next God will actually be me.~_

**…**

With December in its midst, nearly five months had passed since Nyu had returned to the Maple Inn, and life returned to a sense of normality for the six residents. The year would soon be coming to an end and hopefully bring with it new opportunities and good fortune for everyone.

It didn't take long for winter to ravage down upon Kamakura and soon the Maple Inn was painted over with a thick layer of snow. But even the coldest blizzards couldn't dampen the hopes of these people inside the old restaurant. The dawning of a new year would open the window towards a grand and prosperous future. Kouta and Yuka would be on their way to starting their second year of University with some good academic results to build on from this year previous. Nozomi had taken up Kouta's offer and would regularly stay over at the Inn, giving her a chance to harness her musical studies; sometimes she would come along with Kouta and Yuka to the University so she wasn't always studying on her own. Mayu was also doing well in middle school and had even made a few friends along the way.

"*Yawn!*, g'morning..." a crusty eyed Nana welcomed into another day as the others sat down to their piping hot coffee. Still rubbing sleep out of her eyes. Nana had been a key observer of the changes which had occurred over the last few months. She had been intrigued by the humans she had become acquainted with lately, and couldn't help but notice their individual idiosyncrasies.

"Good Morning Nana~, your coffee's waiting too," Yuka warmly added. Nana admired Yuka as the Mother of the household. She had matured quite a lot over the months and didn't hold as much of a jealousy complex as she used to. But of course she would still show her love for Kouta at times, just to make sure he wouldn't stray away from her.

Nana drowned her throat in the steamy liquid. "Ooh...That's nice and hot." Nana gazed outside at the snow-capped trees and garden, "I wonder if that white stuff is what's making everything so cold?"

"Now we've been over this before Nana, it's called 'snow'," Kouta corrected the unawares girl. As the sole-man in the house, Kouta had taken on a more serious role as a house guardian, making sure everyone was looked after and treated well. He had recently been accepted under a contract construction job on a site near his University due to start during the end-of-year break period.

Mayu and Nozomi had both become more confident in their own skin since the new year. Mayu continued giving small meals to the man on the beach. She had told Kouta and Yuka that he was a 'homeless person' that she was looking after as part of a school community service program. Consequently, Yuka would often prepare some nicer meals especially for Mayu to give to the poor man.

Nozomi stuck her head deep into another exercise book; she had her own end of year exams approaching soon and it was obvious the nerves were getting to her. She was depriving herself of a lot of sleep and frequently finding her 'secret' panties getting wet. She still hadn't opened up to anyone about her adult-diaper apart from Kouta and one other person.

And that particular person, Nana believed, had changed the most out of everyone in the Maple Inn. She was coming into the room with a tray of fish for breakfast. "I'm sorry for making you all wait so long. The fish was cheap so I bought plenty. Please enjoy."

"Thanks Nyu-san." Kouta showed his appreciation by quickly digging into the grilled fish, "Mmm...Oishii!"

"Hey, this really is delicious!" Yuka added more enthusiasm, "Well done Nyu-san!"

Nyu returned the favour with a humble nod and smile, "No problem, it's great to see you all so happy." Nyu had taken Nana's advice to heart and had been more open with the others in the house. Yuka and Mayu were quickly impressed when they discovered Nyu's greatly expanded vocabulary. Over the last few months Nana had not once sensed Lucy – Nyu's darker personality, or rather her 'true' self''s presence. Nana concluded that it must have been due to the loss of her horns. Perhaps the key to the latent powers of Diclonii such as Lucy and herself, reside within the bony projections atop their pink-haired heads. Nana figured that if Papa were still around, he would have said something clever like that. A few months ago, Nana might have resorted to her tears for thinking about her Papa. But after draining her eyes of tears and losing sleep for countless nights, she eventually lost the ability to reflect those feelings of pain and loss – instead she would simply frown to herself, ashamed that she could no longer show her true emotions.

"Isn't this Winter weather we're having just so beautiful?" Nyu pressed her hand against her chest, admiring the tiny white flowers that were descending from the garden of the heavens.

"Mmm...Yeah you're right."Kouta concurred, "but I think we should be focusing on our studies right now, we've still got classes today."

"I can't wait till the exams our over!" Yuka expressed her enthusiasm, "With Christmas and New Years around the corner, we can truly celebrate."

"Yeah, and when Spring returns it'll be a year since we first met Nyu," Kouta added. He leaned back and gazed up at the ceiling, reflecting the past with a long sigh, "Those were the days huh?"

Nyu looked around sheepishly, "Funny how Nyu doesn't really remember anything about those early days."

Kouta kept his gaze locked above as a fanged smile grew across his lips, "Yeah...If only we had a Kodak for all the things Nyu got up to in those first days."

Nyu noticed the devious grimaces forming on both Yuka and Kouta's face, "Hold on...I don't understand what I did back then; I can't remember."

Kouta swung back forward and faced a gleam-eyed Yuka, "So she probably doesn't remember the first day she came here..."

"...And wet herself right in the middle of the corridor!" Yuka slapped her thighs as she burst out laughing.

Nyu suddenly blushed with embarrassment and called out, 'NYU!' in her usual infantile tone. Of all the changes Nyu had gone through over the months, she had still managed to cling onto her token and rather pointless catchphrase. "Uso, I would never do such a thing!"

"Come now, surely you must remember seeing me clean the floor after you?" Kouta continued stirring Nyu's (possibly repressed) memories.

"Nyu! Uso da! There is no way I would ever do something like that! Nyu is a good and pure girl."

"'Pure' eh?" Yuka jumped in, "So then I guess you don't remember fondling my breasts on several occasions?"

"NYU!" Nyu simply retorted in a loud voice.

"Heck you even let me have a go on you a couple of times." Kouta threw another blow at Nyu's reputation.

"~NYU-NYU-NYU!" Suddenly Nyu broke down sobbing. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry, just please...no more horrid memories."

"Alright I guess we got a bit carried away there, sorry about that," Kouta tried to cheer her up. "It's all in the past, even the peeing thing."

Nozomi bowed her head as if she were brought down by those last few words. Kouta picked up the negative vibe generated by Nozomi and tried to prevent another of her 'accidents'. "Hey Nozomi, Yuka told me your coming third in mock exams, you must be all set for your exams too, right?"

As Kouta tried to prevent another of Nozomi's 'accidents' Nyu walked outside during the conversation. As she marveled at the world covered in white she noticed something on the snowy ground. "~Aww poor thing... Kouta, Yuka, come look at this!" she called, bringing the young man out into the cold weather to see what the commotion was. Yuka stayed inside and continued to talk to Nozomi.

"A baby bird at this time of year?" Kouta was surprised to discover the tiny chick in Nyu's hands. "Maybe it was thrown out of it's nest or something."

"Aww...Can we keep him?" Nyu said, as if asking a parent for a new toy or pet.

"That could be troublesome," he mused. "Raising a baby bird requires a lot of care and nurturing, plus you'd have to feed it often, even during the night."

"But the poor little fella's freezing...If we just leave it out here it'll die!" Nyu pleaded to the seemingly less than sensitive Kouta.

"I don't know...you'll get to attached to it and when it eventually dies you'll-" Kouta paused when he noticed the streams of icy tears rolling down Nyu's face; at this point it was like trying to explain particle theory to a child. "*Sigh*...Well, you would have to take care of it yourself and deal with all its problems and such..."

"~_Unn_...So I can really keep him?" Nyu beamed back into joy. "Thanks heaps!" Nyu lifted the tiny bird closer to her head. "Isn't that great, you'll be our eighth resident. That's right, _piyo-piyo!_" Nyu shook her head as she made bird noises.

"Well, we better be on our way soon," Kouta called over Yuka as they headed back inside to get changed. Mayu and Nozomi were also leaving to get ready.

As Nyu continued coddling the baby bird, Nana observed her from inside with a sense of regret; a feeling she had accumulated over the last few weeks as she noticed the snowy white lumps slowly growing underneath Nyu's medium-length hair. Although Nana had enjoyed some of the last few months since Nyu's return, only she really knew the harsh reality – that none of this peace could last forever...

…

DICLONII RESEARCH FACILITY...

Kakuzawa continued to remain holed down in the underground grotto, sulking about as if he were looking for answers from inside himself – at least, that was what one observer noted.

"So it's been about six months or so since I came here..." Arakawa looked over to the array or assorted rocks and structures on the distance. "And well, um...What exactly am I supposed to be doing here?"

Kakuzawa turned his head so only one menacing eye could gaze at the bespectacled scientist, "Your job is to research the virus."

"Yeah, I know that, but..." Arakawa continued scratching her head – a reflection of her lack of hygiene since arriving here, "What is our goal? I mean, you told me all that stuff about becoming a God before, but what exactly is my contribution going towards?"

Kakuzawa faced the pond again, "Events haven't quite shaped the way I had desired; even Anna cannot assist my path, she can only lay down the final stones on the long winding road to success."

Arakawa cocked her head in confusion. "Anna?"

"Capturing Lucy is our top priority, for now at least...Have you found any leads as to the boy who was with you when you discovered my son's body?"

Arakawa rubbed the side of her head. "Well, er...not quite..." she stammered, remembering that she tore out and destroyed the sheet of paper from the University's register with the particular boy she was after.

"Well you can be relived to know that you will be going back to the University..."

"*Phew!*"

"...To find the boy and hopefully trace Lucy's whereabouts."

"Oh..." Arakawa slumped her shoulders in a dejected sigh.

"This man will also be conducting a search for Lucy," Kakuzawa waved his arm to someone behind Arakawa. The female scientist jumped off her feet when she noticed the man right behind her shoulder.

**"Good day Miss Arakawa...I've been intrigued by your work over the last few months."**

"GNAH!" Arakawa ducked away from the tall figure. _What a creepy guy...Wait...How does this man know of my work...I've never even seen him here before! Just what the hell has he been doing all this time?_

Kakuzawa faced the very odd couple, "The two of you will search for Lucy, she has been left astray for far too long."

"Ehh?" Arakawa's mouth dropped.

**"With all due respect Director, I don't believe Miss Arakawa's assistance will be necessary. Besides, can we really trust a woman?"**

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT SUPPOSSED TO MEAN YOU PIG!" Arakawa protested against the towering man in the trenchcoats.

**"****Simple, a woman's job is to be of service to the man; cook his meals, clean his house...keep her legs wide open... Besides, all of the really important stuff in history was accomplished by men."**

"Then how do you explain Mary Curie, huh?"

**"Hah, s****he was probably just boning her professor and took all the credit, I don't know."**

A small fang appeared from Arakawa's snarl. "Oh! Why I outta-"

"Enough you two!" Kakuzawa didn't have time for their petty squabbling. "You will both be working in conjunction with each other, and that is final."

**"Okay then, how about we make a game of it? We'll just see how capable a highly strung woman such as yourself can handle finding Lucy. Whoever catches Lucy first wins." **The Man lowered his black fedora hat as a grimaced in a perverted manner, **"If I win, you will be my pleasure slave."**

"WHAT! Wait-!" Arakawa blurted out.

The Man continued reciting his game-plan. **"...and You're clothes should only cover the nipples...Yeah, that would be good, hehe."**

"What the fuck? Are you retarded or just really sick in the head? Who do you take me for anyway?" The poor scientist couldn't believe her ears; was this _pervert _the best the Kakuzawa could come up with to find Lucy?

**"Hmph...I knew you weren't up for such high stakes..."**The Man began walking away in feigned disappointment.

"HAH! You're on then!" Arakawa gathered up her courage to challenge this deluded man, "And if I happen to find Lucy first then...you can chop your bloody dick off!"

The Man smiled crudely. **"Hehehe...Okay then." **_What a stupid woman...There's no way I can lose..._

"I might even have Lucy personally do the honours for you," Arakawa pouted as she stormed off to prepare for her return to the University.

**"I already bought some smiley-face stickers, we can use them after I find Lucy!"** the man chuckled as Arakawa hurried away, muttering every unkind thing she could thing of about that Man.

Once the virus researcher had left the grotto, the Man turned back to the Director. **"She's an interesting woman, you must have a lot of faith to put her in charge of the virus itself."**

Kakuzawa shuffled his feet into the earth.** "She was a close associate of my late son; I understand she's quite capable for the task at hand."**

The Man's smile became more cheekier as he pondered about the science aid even further. **"How do we know of her true intentions though? What if she's planning something under your nose?"**

Kakuzawa turned a scornful aye at the inquisitive Man. "It would hardly matter at all, my path has already been determined. The plan will be implemented without her knowing."

**"Hmph...That's more like you..."** the man noted with a sly voice. **"And once that happens, will it really fall to us?"**

"Naturally it will, you'll see when the Silpelits show their true power."

The seedy Man tipped his hat over his face as he chuckled wickedly. **"I'm not asking about that. What I meant was...Do you still think sacrificing your daughter was justified for achieving all this?**

…

KAMAKURA UNIVERSITY

"I feel bad leaving Nana all alone, do you think we should have brought her along?" Yuka wondered as the four of them made their way to the University.

"I do to, but remember the one time we brought her along and she didn't enjoy it?" Kouta mentioned. "Plus she doesn't really pass off as a University student by looks as easily as Nyu does."

"That is true," Yuka laughed lightly.

"You don't think anybody will notice I'm not enrolled here?" Nozomi shifted her eyes around nervously as they walked through the crowd of young adults.

"Iie! There's tons of students here; as if anyone would recognise anyone who was out of place," Kouta reassured the girl of weak disposition.

"Yeah, don't worry Nozomi-chan," Yuka added. "Besides, Nyu was never been singled out by anyone – well, except for that one time..." Yuka recalled the incident with their former teacher who had briefly tried to seize custody of Nyu by claiming she was the child of a brother of his. "Yeah, that reminds me, third lecture's canceled since Kakuzawa-sensei disappeared."

"Yeah..." Kouta agreed with a sigh. _But of course nobody seems to know that he was killed..._Kouta still had haunting visions of his professor's headless corpse lying on the tiled floor. He recalled the assistant lady with glasses who had first told him about the professors secret research on 'horned-people', as well as the fate that anyone born with horns is bestowed with.

_"Those with horns are isolated in an institution and exterminated."_

Kouta glanced over to Nyu with a sense of worry. _Could Nyu really__have...I mean, after what she did to Kanae and Father?..._Kouta gripped a fist in frustration. _What am I thinking...There's no point __finding out while she's like this._

"Oi, Kouta, what's the matter?" Yuka jumped over in front of Kouta's path, placing her hands on her hips, "You keep spacing out all of a sudden."

"Huh? Oh it's alright, I was just thinking about what lessons we had left today."

"Are you okay Kouta?" Nyu expressed her own concern for the one she cared about.

"Yeah I'm fine," Kouta pat Nyu's head softly; Yuka was already ahead of the others so the dragon within her didn't notice the small gesture between them.

"Come on you two, we're gonna be late at this rate!" she called back to them.

"Right! Let's go Nyu!" Kouta grabbed Nyu's hand as they paced through the corridors. _I still have much to ask Nyu...Even if she was the one who murdered the professor that day I need to find out why...I can't let those people take Nyu..._

"NYU~! Kouta, slow down!" Nyu panted as she struggled to keep up her own pace.

"Sorry about that Nyu," Kouta apologised as they finally caught up with Yuka and Nozomi. _Whatever happens at this point, I must make sure we don't run into that assistant lady... _Kouta declared in his thoughts – just as a bespectacled woman clad in a lab-coat brushed past their group.

"Oh shit..."

The woman in the lab-coat suddenly stopped and turned to face the group. When her gaze fell on Nyu she dropped the papers she was carrying and her eyes widened in fear.

"AGH!"

…

MEANWHILE...

The Unknown Man strolled towards another of the various observation rooms overlooking the Silpelit test subjects. He appeared to be carrying a small dark object in his left hand.**"Is the selection process over now?"**

"H-Hai..." one of the workers quickly answered, "Number 28 has been selected. Since her vectors are undeveloped and her personality is fairly obedient, she appears to be the most competent..."

The Man gazed through the glass panel looking down at the Diclonius as if he were a God. Her melancholic expression and dried tear trails indicated how much suffering this 'specimen' had undergone throughout her brief life in this island facility. Now that she had been 'selected' she pondered whether this torment would ever end.

She could hear his tapping footsteps approaching from the dark entrance. When she saw his body, encased in dark clothing she knew that her misfortune was never going to leave her alone.** "****A superb specimen, you're my favourite type too...****" **

"Wh...a?" So weak that she could barely speak, the Diclonius known only as Number 28 stared blankly through the towering figure of darkness. As a consequence of enduring so many experiments and incarceration in this cold, hostile facility – naked and restrained to the hard wall, Number 28 had lost the will to resist or even question any of the instructor's orders. She would just go through the motions as if everyday was just another experiment or alteration procedure. She knew about her many sisters who also went through the same punishing treatment as herself, but she also knew that she was much weaker and softer than her more menacing, vector-producing counterparts. She also knew, from the conversations of the guards and researchers, about her 'big sister' who managed to escape the facility ten months ago. Would big sister come back and rescue her younger siblings? Even that small flicker of hope was pointless for someone like Number 28. Even big sister would have no use for such an inferior kin. But now she would be leaving this facility to search for big sister; perhaps she could prove to be useful after all.

When Number 28 noticed the Man produce a strange weapon which unfolded into a crossbow-shaped handgun, she knew for sure where her fate lay.** "****...*Tut-tut* what a tragic waste...****" **A demonic smile crept up the Man's face like a dark crescent moon.** "****Oh well...At least before the operation...let's play a little...****"**

**…**

Back at the Maple Inn. Nana was left to take care of the bird Nyu had taken in from the outside. She sulked as she fed the chick some tiny seeds and breadcrumbs.

"_*Piyo-Piyo*" it chirped, pecking at the seeds._

"Poor thing...So helpless...All you ever do is eat food." Nana contemplated the folly of what she had just said. "But that's all I ever do here too...I guess Nana is as useless as this bird..."

…

ENOSHIMA BEACH:

Bandou – the Custodial Guardian of the Beach, noticed Mayu walking onto the beach as he picked up the day's garbage. It appeared she was with another student, judging from the identical uniform, around her own age.

"See Mio-chan? This is the man I was telling you about." Mayu walked her friend over to the indifferent Bandou.

"Oh...so this is the crazy man who lives on the beach?" Mio called out, interested in Mayu's homeless buddy. She resembled your typical middle-schooler, with hazel coloured hair slightly longer than Mayu's and more of her forehead exposed, revealing her fox-like features."Hey sir, Mayu-chan tells me about you everyday. My name is Mio." The young girl waved her hand over her head from a distance."

"Tch...Go on, shoo-shoo!" Bandou waved his hand in an unwelcoming gesture.

"Come on Wanta." Mayu picked up her other best friend. "Come on Mio-chan, let's go back to the Maple Inn."

Mio offered a cheery smile. "Okay!" As they walked off Bandou could still hear Mio mentioning how, "_That man is quite an interesting person._"

Bandou sighed reflectively as the girls disappeared from sight. _What a bunch of brats..._

…

Back on the mainland, on a quiet road overlooking the ocean, a man carrying a large case was pacing around the town, following the trail of a Diclonius.

**"Well now...Where did Lucy go..."**

**…**

Mayu and Mio were near the Maple Inn as they made their way up the long path of stairs. "So does that man just live on the beach? Doesn't he have some relatives or a place to call home?" Mayu's friend inquired.

Mayu looked down at her shoes also reflecting on her friend on the beach. "He has a reason for living on the Beach..."

...

_"Here today's leftovers, Bandou-san!"_

_"Yeah, thanks kid..."_

_"It's getting awfully cold this time of year, Bandou-san. Why don't you find someplace warm."_

_"Tch...What exactly is this 'warm' place you speak of kid? Besides I can't leave here until I find that bitch with horns."_

_"You've been searching for this horned-girl for half a year now...Do you really think she'll come back here?"_

_"She WILL come back here...This is where we first met and this will be the final battleground for us as well..."_

_"I think you should give up on this horned-girl...Your obsession is hurting your spirit."_

_"After what she did to my body, there's no way I could let her get away now...My sole purpose in this world is to eliminate that woman who says 'Nyu' all the time...I don't suppose you're hiding anything from me, are ya Missy?"_

_"*Sigh* I don't know anything about this girl with horns..."_

_...  
><em>

"Do you think he's 'all there upstairs', if you know what I mean?" Mio asked as the two of them set towards the front door.

"I think so," Mayu answered as she slipped of her shoes. "I've just felt sorry for him ever since...He would be very lonely on that beach if it weren't for me."

Mio sighed unreassuringly, "Sometimes I reckon you're just too kind Mayu-chan." She also took off her shoes as they made their way in the old restaurant.

"Nana! We're back!" Mayu called out for the horned-girl until she noticed Nana huddled in a corner sobbing quietly to herself. "What's wrong Nana?"

Nana pulled her head out her huddled body, revealing a stream of tears and drool across her face. "Nana *sniff* is nothing but a freeloader...I'm so useless..."

**…**

A bright dot displayed itself on the radar the Man possessed. **"Bingo...This thing works better than I thought...And Lucy hasn't strayed too far from the facility either...This is just too easy..." **The Man looked across towards the direction of the signal. **"So she's up there, eh? Splendid! Now all that's left is capturing Lucy..."**

**…**

"Thanks for cheering me up Mayu!" Nana wrapped her arms tightly around her friend. "Nana will try and be a hard worker from now on!"

Mio felt awkward in her position as she noticed the horned-girl in Mayu's household. "So this girl is your sister?"

Mayu lifted her head away from Nana's as she spoke to her friend. "Kind of... Her name is Nana, she was a runaway like I was when she came here too."

"And her head...?" Mio couldn't help but notice the bony protrusions in Nana's pink hair.

Mayu reassured her friend, "She was born with them..." She held her hand out so she could whisper, _"Please don't mention them too much, she's very sensitive about them."_

Though Mio was often the louder one in Mayu's class, she was also quite considerate of others and nodded when she got the message. "I think you're hair's real pretty Nana-san." She crouched down so she could get a better look.

Nana wiped the remaining tears from her face. "Really? Thanks~."

"This is my friend and classmate, Mio." Mayu introduce her friend to Nana.

"Oh excuse me for being upset earlier it's a pleasure to meet-" As Nana stood up to greet Mayu's friend she suddenly froze, her pupil narrowing to tiny dots. _What's this...?_

_~~"_**It hurts...It hurts...It hurts so much..."~~**

"Nana-chan? Are you okay?" Mayu hovered over the horned-girl.

Nana shivered in paralytic fear. _"What is this awful presence?"_she said to herself.

_~~"_**Please make the pain stop..." **Nana found herself in a strange world, as if she had been teleported into her subconscious**.**_**"Kill me...Kill me now**!" _Nana was horrified to discover a horribly mutilated body – the upper half at least, crawling towards her. She couldn't even tell if it was human as its entrails fell dragged along the cold grey earth. Just as she could gaze into its melting face she was thrown back into the real world.~~

"NANA?"

_"Run..."_

"Huh?" Mayu looked confused at Nana's odd behaviour. "You look very pale."

"Do you think I should go now?" Mio suggested as she backed over to the door.

"NO...BOTH OF YOU GET AWAY FROM HERE!"

But Nana's cries were too late. As Mio slid open the door, the three of them were confronted by an unexpected visitor: a tall man covered in darkness. A visitor who was literally from Hell itself...

**"Oh...And who might you be?"**

* * *

><p><strong>Elfen Lied: The Second Verse<strong> - Episode 4 Preview

_"Let's try playing with a human girl for a change."_

_"Lucy will surely be mine..._"

_"Come here my children...Father's got some special treats for you"_

_"Mio...Nana...Wanta...Will you ever forgive me, even after my face is mutilated?"_

_"Nyu...eh?"_

Monsters rise to the surface, ensarned by the scent of prey. The demons awaken, lusting for more bloodshed. When you become the hunter's target, hoe does one escape the crosshairs of impending doom? Make sure you do NOT miss the next episode of _Elfen Lied: The Second Verse_


	4. Episode 4: Albtraum

**It seems my words had their desired effect on some people after seeing some new faces on the reviews and favourites. Bunny 153539 gets 100 points for reading and reviewing not just this story, but virtualy all of my Elfen Lied stories and X-overs in one day. If he/she (or 'it' since it has to be a fanfic reading machine) can do all that then there's no excuses for not leaving a review - whether good or bad, it's all useful. And if you find any specific spelling, punctuation or gramar errors, please let me know whether through PM or review; The Layman and myself both look over each chapter several times but sometimes you can't spot every error so feel free to inform me of any of those.  
><strong>

**Unfortunately, though I said I would maybe do two chapters this week If I got more reviews, I've realised that's just physically/mentally impossible (Do you realise how hard it is to write up, draw up and direct an Episode of 'Anime' when there's only two staff members?). So as a small compromise I've published this weeks episode a little earlier and with a beefed up soundtrack (mostly dedicated to Hellsing OST's which I assume only the Manga fans will get). So take your time reading, listen to all the music and enjoy the fourth episode of the second season** - _Elfen Lied: The Second Verse_

Track 4 - Playlist

Puppet Master Dubstep (League of the Shamed) - Horror

Hellsing RUINS OST - Hemp Smoke Stings the Eyes

Hellsing RAID OST - The Mask of the Priest and the Bell of the Chapel

To Love Ru - Saki* (Not actually an OST per se but you'll see where it fits in the chapter)

Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu OST - Higeki no Heroine

Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu OST - Oi oi

Hellsing RAID OST - P.S. Lord Amitabha Have Mercy On Me

Rammstein - Sonne (Clawfinger K.O remix)

Bleach Movie Fade to Black OST - Stand Up Be Strong (Part I)

Hellsing RUINS OST - Good Bye Used World

Hellsing RUINS OST - Gypsy of Atonement

Hellsing RUINS OST - The Japanese Alphabet Road With Chinese Bellflower's Sweet Smell

* * *

><p><strong>Track 4: Albtraum (悪夢): Nightmare<br>**

_~I'll open up by myself~_

…

"MIO GET AWAY!"

"Excuse me are you a friend of-" The curious Mio was silenced by the giant Man as he picked her up with one hand by the neck and thrust her head into the wall.

"MIO!" Mayu ran over to here friend but received a hard knee into her gut. "*Guck*" She wheezed as the wind blew out of her tiny body.

"HEY WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" Nana tried to remain assertive as she held an injured Mayu.

**"Tch...Lucy ain't here after all! What a piece of shit this thing was in the end!"** The Unknown Man cursed to himself, taking the large case off his back.

"N-N-No...It can't be..." Nana. "In your backpack is..."

The Man grit his teeth again in frustration.** "Cheh...I suppose I may as well offer you a farewell introduction while you're still kicking – hehe Oh wait that's right!"** The Man chuckled as he tapped the bottom of the case, triggering a door to open and reveal the sheer nightmare that was dwelling inside.

"EEEEKKK!" Mayu cowered behind Nana as she discovered the true horror of humanity.

"Oh my God..." Nana shuddered as she gazed at the thing inside the box. "That's too cruel...So very cruel..."

**"Quite a masterpiece huh?"** The Unknown Man boasted.** "I'm using her as a radar to find Lucy, since you Diclonii can sense each other and such. We had to give her a few modifications of course so she'd fit inside this case – thus her limbs have been amputated and most of her internal organs removed. The only reason she's still live is because of this contraptions she's in. Plus to ensure she won't use her vectors, these two cords send electrical pulses straight to the neurons in her spinal chord so she's constantly in pain...If only you could imagine the sheer pain *slurp*." **The Man bore a sickening grin as he described the Diclonius in more detail.

**"Say 'hello', Number 28...Oh Wait I almost forgot, Since she has no diaphragm she can't even tell us of her pain."** Number 28's face said it all though, a constant stream of tears and drool; her mouth quivering weakly as if even taking a breath would give her more pain; her eye's half-open as if she were in a comatose state. **"I'd say she only has about three days left anyway – BUT SHE'S SO FUCKING USELESS..."**The Man violently kicked over the container holding Number 28, triggering a splatter of blood and viscous fluid to leak out of the chamber. The Man tone suddenly eased again,** "Oh...How careless of me, I've inadvertently killed her."**

Nana was still frozen in complete fear and dismay at what this man had committed against the girl. But Nana knew the poor Diclonius was already dying before she even came here. _That's why she wanted me to kill her..._

The sadistic Man kept poking his boot against the case as he kept his hands deep in his dark pit of coats. **"Oh well...No good for searching Lucy, but at least you gave me some satisfaction in the end before the operation."**

**_~~"How does it feel knowing she had not known a single good thing about this world? How does it feel knowing your true enemy is right before you? Are you going to just let this monster who calls himself a man keep sucking up precious oxygen? Or will you decide for once, who deserves repentance, and who must be punished?"~~_**

Nana slowly rose to her feet, her eyes hidden in shadow. "Don't tell me you actually..."

**"Hehe...Yeah..."** The Man answered. **"Whilst she still her lower half on I-"**

Suddenly something had sparked inside of Nana as she generated a small whirlwind, with dust raising and circling around her body. She almost appeared as if something else was moving her body now – as if invisible strings of the puppet-master of her sub-conscience were moving her very limbs. A dark voice from within her body made a vow, **"**_**I will never forgive you for that..."** _

…

"C'mon guys, let's go; we're gonna be late now." Kouta tried to guide the girls away from the crazy Assistant Lady.

"Oh-ho-ho-ho...Long time no see...Uh...John Smith..." Arakawa forced out some mock laughter. _That's the way girl, just play it cool...we don't wanna look to suspicious now..._

Kouta whispered over to the others, "Yuka, Nozomi, Nyu, run now...I'll deal with her." Kouta paced over towards the unpredictable researcher. "~Onee-san...Onee-san...~Why you've grown a nice pair of tits since we last met."

"Huh? What are you saying?" Arakawa bit back as she covered her Nobel Prizes.

"Okay leg it!" Kouta signalled for the others to make their great escape.

"What th- How dare you use such dirty tactics!" Arakawa blasted. "Dammit , I _won't _be that Man's pleasure slave!" she vowed a little too loudly.

_Pleasure slave? _Kouta's digressing thoughts slowed him down, giving Arakawa a chance to close the gap. As a blazing trail of dust gather behind her Kouta and the others desperately tried to keep up the pace. "Holy shit she's fast for a science aid."

Nyu suddenly lost her footing and tripped over herself. "NYU!"

"Nyu!"

"HAHA! I've gotcha now!" _Lucy will surely be mine..._

…

"NANA WATCH OUT!" As Nana began to pounce with her vectors aimed at her new prey, Mayu noticed the Man produce a strange weapon from his coat. Just as Nana's vectors scraped against the Man's skin he fired what appeared to be a folding crossbow.

The crossbow shot out a spiked ball projectile. Nana, slowed as she tried using her invisible hands to decelerate its trajectory. The spiked ball was proving to be too heavy for Nana, plus its spinning motion seemed to give it more momentum as it eventually struck the left side of her abdomen – punching a giant hole in her clothes as well as it pitched its multitude of barbed spikes into her flesh. "Damn it what was that..it was so hea..." Nana suddenly collapsed to her knees as the pain suddenly kicked in "UUUUWWAAAAAGGGHHHHH!"

The diabolical Man strolled towards the helpless Nana, tipping his shades along the way in gleeful pride. **"Mwahahaha! So the poison is starting to take its effect?"**

"Nana!" Mayu scrambled across the floor to try and help her friend. Nana fought back the tears and sucked in her teeth as she tried desperately to pull the spiked ball out of her abdomen.

"Ugh...Agh...It hurts so much! AAAGGHHHH!" Nana continued screaming in agonising pain as the Man continued mocking her predicament.

**"Diclonius: an offshoot species of homo-sapiens destined to overthrow mankind...Your one great strength is the latent power within the pineal gland, granting you the telekinetic powers of vectors...Yet who could fathom that your one major flaw lie in in your susceptibility to pain...Couldn't your Queen at least have granted you the ability not to feel pain alongside those vectors she passed down to her daughters?"** The Man chuckled at his own monologue. **"Those bastards weigh two kilos, enough to overcome the vectors of an ordinary Diclonius such as yourself."** The Man tipped his hat as he continued,** "Of course they are too wide and heavy for killing but the neurotoxin released from those barbs grant a substantial amount of pain worthy for capture."**

"Ugh...GUGH! GAGH! UWAH!" Nana almost gagged as she tried to stop the pain.

"Nana-san! Please hang on!" Mayu felt completely helpless in this situation. Mio and now Nana had been attacked by this unknown visitor, yet she was just a tiny schoolgirl...What could she possibly do when confronted with such a large, fearsome man?

**"Ahh I think I've found you now..."** The Man took another heavy step with his black boots.** "The young lass is to my liking...Let's play with a human girl for a change, shall we?..."**

…

"AHA, I'm so smart! You thought you could escape Miss Arakawa, but nothing gets past _this_ lady...HOHOHOHO!" The crazy Assisstant lady proved just how mad she was with a prideful laugh.

"Please just leave Nyu alone...She didn't do anything to you!" Kouta pleaded with Arakawa.

"Not until I get some answers buddy." Arakawa pulled a syringe from her pocket as she held Nyu in a in front of her. She held the syringe close to Nyu's throat. _I just hope they don't realise this thing only contains water__... _"Now, I want to know where you're hiding the Horned-girl."

"But Nyu is...Wait what did you say?" Kouta was confused at first.

A shimmering smile of determination donned the science lady's face, "I'll really do it! I'll pump this bitch with whatever is in here if you don't open your tongue now!"

"You better do something Kouta, she's clearly lost the plot." Yuka advised.

_This woman doesn't even realise who she's holding, _Kouta suddenly realised. "I don't know anyone who has horns in their head," he said, assertively this time.

"Don't mess with me...I've got a Bachelor in Science you know. I won't let a horned girl hide on my watch, no siree!" Kouta, Yuka, and Nozomi sweat-dropped at the woman's brazen (if sorely misinformed) statement, but held their tongues nonetheless. Arakawa continued unawares, "Now...if you'll just come to my lab we can discuss things further..."

"I believe our discussion is over," Kouta stated, "Now could you please let go of Nyu?"

"You have no idea who you're dealing with kid," Arakawa's tone suddenly changed into something far darker, "We can crush you're peaceful life in an instant. You should realise by now that horned girls are way out of your league...You should know by know that horned-people and humans cannot co-exist."

Kouta suddenly went on the defensive, "Oh...and why is that?"

Arakawa's eyes narrowed indicating her seriousness, "Because horned-people are born killers – and will instinctively kill all those who cross their path."

Yuka and Nozomi suddenly expressed great shock in what the scientist was saying. Could Nyu have been someone like that? It couldn't possibly be true, Nyu was just an innocent girl with horns; what if she's mistaken for somebody else?

Kouta's stern expression suddenly turned as the young man struggled to hold in his laughter. "Pff-HAW-HAW...What a load of B.S!"

"What exactly is bullshit to you? I'm being serious," Arakawa retorted, a little hurt that her display of intimidation had failed to intimidate. She could soon hear Nyu whimpering softly as she continued her hostage interrogation. "Huh? What's your problem?" She turned the pink-haired girl around revealing a teary face and two tiny growths just beginning to emerge from within her hair.

_Wait a minute...This person I've been holding the whole time is..._

"WAAAARRRGGGHHH!" Arakawa suddenly screamed as she pushed Nyu away and kowtowed before the Diclonius. "Please don't kill me Lucy, I beg of you...I mustn't die a Virgin-" Arakawa gradually lifted her head...

Only to be met with an empty hallway.

"Huh? They got away?" She hung her head in shame, "Damnit, I think I just lost the bet..."

…

"*Hah*, *hah*, *phew*! Looks like we got away... Thanks to her freaking out, Nyu. " Kouta hunched over out of breath.

"*Hah* Yeah...Who is she?" Yuka said.

"Well, I'm not too sure...But she was a former assistant of Professor Kakuzawa."

"She seems to know a lot about Nyu...Could what she said have been true?" Yuka worried as she faced a sour-faced Nyu.

"Nyu did no such thing as killing people!" Nyu pouted, puffing her cheeks like a young child in denial.

"It's okay Nyu..." Kouta walked over and pet Nyu on her head softly. _You haven't killed anyone...But your other persona has killed many – including my very own family..._"In any case, Nyu should probably stay home for a while until this boils over. C'mon, let's head back home now..."

…

"**Get undressed now."** The Unknown Man had driven Mayu into a corner of the room, flexing his gloved hands as he made his horrid request.** "Make any excess noises and you'll be in for a lot of pain. Oh...You'll probably get a little sore anyway hehehe."**

~"_Go on … be a good girl and take off your clothes already..."~_

"NOOO!" Mayu made a shrill scream as the Unknown Man made his request for her to undress; memories of her abusive stepfather suddenly flooding back.

**"Whoah! What's with this chick?**"The Unknown Man was startled by the tiny girl's loud screams.

A loud yapping noise came into the room as Wanta was spurred into action by his owner's cries for help. The tiny animal latched itself onto the much larger animal, gripping its teeth on the Man's leg.

**"STUPID MONGREL!" **The Man swept his leg back into a wooden pillar, crushing Wanta's body against the frame.

"WANTA NO! DON'T DIE!" Mayu clutched her poor canine friend as blood drooled out of its mouth.

Seeing Mayu's tears of despair somehow awakened the willpower in Nana. The Diclonius dragged her body over towards the Man whilst he was briefly distracted. _I'm sorry Mayu, because of me, this person is here! I must do something...I must protect..._

"Leave her alone!" Nana pleaded weakly as she wrapped an arm around the Man's waist.

**"You again? Now I'm going to have to put another bullet in you so you'll remain obedient. K-ku-ku-ku..."** The Man chuckled maniacally as he shot another spiked ball into Nana's left side. **"Now that we're without any distractions let's-"** The Man searched around the room for Mayu. **"Where'd she scurry off to now?"**

…

Bandou was once again in the middle of cleaning his prideful strip of coastal territory when he finally felt his mobile phone vibrate in his pocket – the first call he had ever received for quite a long time. He knew it had to be that girl.

"What's this brat want now?" Bando grabbed out his phone and answered. "Hullo?"

He was met with incoherent screams and rambling, so loud he was forced to pull the phone back from his ear. "Whoa what's the problem? Where are you right now?"

_"#Bandou-san, Wanta has...Mio has...Nana has-#"_

_CRRRRRSSSHHHH..._

_…_

_…_

_…_

"Aw fuck," Bandou cursed as the call suddenly cut out. "Goddamit what's that little rascal gotten herself into now?"

…

The Man glared at Mayu after he had stepped over and severed the landline cable. **"You're making a joke of me aren't you?"** He swiped the back of his fist against Mayu's cheek, sending her down to the hard floor.** "I hope you've prepared yourself for what's coming..."**

Mayu shivered with complete and utter fear as she lifted her head back to face the terrifying presence hovering over her body. With one swift manoeuvre the walking demon lifted her body and threw her violently back down so she was face up. With another swift motion, he had tore the front of her uniform, exposing her body to the unspeakable individual.

"EEEEEE-" Just as Mayu was about scream to the Heavens themselves, the Man quickly smothered her mouth with his large gloved hand. "That's enough out of you girly...I've had my fun but now I'm getting impatient."

Mayu felt like she was being robbed of her dignity – violated by this Man's perverted glances of her body. **"Flat chest- yet you still wear a bra eh? I guess your friend over there does the same..." **Referring to Mio, who had already been knocked out earlier. He then proceeded to pull the bra up, **"Oh and what's this? They're pink? How fucking hilarious!" **As the Man chuckled at his own devious observations, Mayu scanned her eyes around the room desperate to find a way to escape.** "It's no use...What could you possibly achieve with such a tiny body?"** He said with a mocking grimace.

Mayu stretched her arm until it reached the phone cable. **"Now shall we take a tour downst-AGH!" **The Man was interrupted by the phone, only it was through hitting the back of his head.

__I have to reach some help...__Mayu began crawling away from the Man but it was no use.

**"Ow! HEY, WHERE THE HELL D'YA THINK YER GOIN'?"** The Man spoke much more harsher and vulgar this time. **"Your persistence is getting on my nerves."** The Man grabbed Mayu by the ankle and lifted her body so it was hanging upside down.

**"Ooof!"** The Man was faced with a kick to the nose this time, the tiny kick managing to bend the piece of cartilage nearly 90 degrees. **"THAT'S IT YOU FUCKING BITCH!"** The Man had truly lost it now as he pined Mayu down on the floor with one hand whilst holding the crossbow with the other.** "Perhaps one of these spiked bullets in the eye might make you behave!"**

As the crossbow dangled inches from Mayu's left eye she could only shed a few more tears as she smiled, glancing over at her friends who had already suffered a nasty fate at the hands of this mysterious individual. Mio's head was soaked in blood as she lay sprawled face down on the floor; Nana was barely breathing after being shot by not one but two neurotoxin bullets; and even poor Wanta had been brutally wounded by the person who seemed to hurt anyone indiscriminately – children were just an easier target for his tormenting wrath it seemed.

_Mio...Nana...Wanta...Will you ever forgive me, even after my face is mutilated?_

**"Cheerio!"**

SPILCH...

…

UNDERGROUND LEVELS OF THE DICLONIUS RESEARCH FACILITY:

A long stretch of underground cavern greeted anyone who visited this obscure and inhospitable area of the research facility. The dark cavern was illuminated only by the shining whites of eyes – eyes of strange creatures which were kept incarcerated behind large steel doors with only a tiny slit shaped window for viewing the corridors. Why anyone would be mad enough to roam down here is one thing; the purpose of this underground chamber was quite another as well...But one individual was down here, walking past the millennia of tiny stars and hands latching out for him as if he were a beacon of light...Or maybe even a God!

The 'God' finally reached a metallic door, looking for the four angels sleeping inside. He took out some candy from his pocket and put his arm into the door so he could make his offering to the angels.

"Come here my children...Father's got some more treats for you~!"

…

SMACK! A blindingly immense force charged through the Man just as he was about to shoot Mayu. His face was met with the hard boots of another equally formidable beast.

"BANDOU!" Mayu cried as her saviour had arrived, the spiked bullet shaving off a few strands of her hair as it was thrown of its aim.

Bandou remained as slick and sturdy as ever, noticing Mayu's current state behind his small shades. "Don't say my name whilst looking so elated!" Bandou averted his gaze so he could face his rival monster. "You're lucky considering my only lead was the name of the house you said on the beach-" Bandou noticed the Man trying to crawl away in cowardice. "Oi! What the hell we're you planning on doing to this brat you fucking paedo?"

The Man's tone of voice suddenly changed again as he was significantly brought down in size.** "No wait...You see there seems to be a misunderstanding-"**

THWACK! The Man's trifle excuses were answered by Bandou the only way he knew how – through his jaw-smashing fist. The Man's head was thrown back by the almost supersonic punch as it collided back to the hard earth. "Where's your 'misunderstanding' you friggin' dumbarse?"

**"Gug...Urg..."** The Man gurgled as he tried to contain the contents of this mouth and nose.

"Eh? Crawlin' away now? Where was that strength you had before? Is that only used against girl's or something?" But Bandou's taunts gave the Man a change to make a slimy getaway.

"Bandou watch out!" Mayu tried to warn her steel knight as another rouge spiked projectile pounded into Bandou's gut.

Bando glanced down at the strange object, somewhat confused that he had let something such as this to get past his defences. "GAGH! What the fuck is this? Can't...Pull it...out... Owww SHIT that stings!"

**"Hm-Hm-Hm-Hm-Hm-Mwah-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-ha!" **The Man rose in triumph with a shiningly menacing laugh at his cheap tactic. **"Everybody reacts the same, too bad you can't pull it out – especially when the real pain should arrive by now."**

And soon enough the neurotoxin's effect was visible even on the seemingly invincible warrior. "GAAAAGGGHHHHH!" The veins around Bandou's eyes were rippled as he suddenly doubled over, writhing in tremendous pain.

"Bandou-san!" Mayu cradled the giant fallen warrior.

The Man grabbed Mayu and pinned her back to the floor again.** "Where's that strength _you _had before now? HAHAHA! Those barbed spikes will keep oozing neurotoxin in your body for up to thirty minutes...Enjoy yourself while I pop this kids cherry right before your very eyes ku-ku-ku..."**

"GAGH! NOOO!" Bandou tried to stop the man with his words this time, but they seemingly had no effect.

"IIE! STOP IT!" Mayu tried to break free again but the Man leaned his bruised face down so his dirty breath could be felt against Mayu's teary face.

**"Struggle anymore and I'll be even worse to that man," **The Man hissed as he stroked Mayu's cheek.** "That's it! Now be a good girl and you might not even get hurt that much."**

"GRRRGGHH!" The Man was distracted once again as Bandou rose back to his knees, continuing valiantly to pull out the barbed iron ball.

**"Still trying to remove it? Hm-hm, you really are all brawn and no brains then. It's been tested on Diclonii many times, and there is no way you can that thing out without ripping off your own skin!"**

"GGGEEEEAAAARRRRRGGHHHHH!" Bandou roared loud enough to startle the lions in Africa. Overpowering his own pain instincts through sheer wilful force, Bandou tore out the spiked ball, taking a fair chunk of dermis with it.

**"Ma-Masaka!"** The inhuman Man was blown away by his opponent's resolve.** "That's impossible; just what the hell are you?"**

Bandou smirked as he held the spiked ball in his right hand. "That son-of-a-bitch hurt so much, but once I pull the bastard out it's actually quite a relief...Now it's your turn..." Bando pivoted his body as he went for the main pitch. "But before I fuck you over I'll give you some advice for the next world; artificial limbs are harder to puncture than real ones." He pulled the sleeve back on his right hand, revealing his mechanical limb.

**"Son-of-a...W-wa-wait, there's been a misunder-"**

"GRAGH! FEEL THE PAIN!" Bandou growled as he pegged the spiky/barbed projectile right on the Man's left arse cheek.

The Man howled as the poisonous ball struck his royal rump.** "YAAARRGH! It hu~rts-*hu*hu*huuu*" **The Man who had stormed into the house and held the top perch just minutes ago was now feeling smaller than a worm, squirming and rolling around like one too.

"BWAHAHA...Crawling like a helpless worm! I'll send you down to the earth with 'em in a sec," Bandou declared as he pressed his handgun against the teary-eyed man's temple.

But just before Bandou could finish his prey Mayu jumped over his shoulder. "STOP! DON'T KILL HIM! PLEASE!"

"Are you crazy little squirt? He tried to attack you!" Bandou tried to make sense out of the juvenile peacekeeper.

_Because once you kill...you-_

"HEY, COME BACK HERE YA PRICK!" Bandou cursed his missed killing opportunity as the Man scurried away in an intoxicated limp as a result of Mayu's melee. "Now look what you've done Missy, the fucker got away!

"Bandou-san...," the poor girl sobbed, "Nana is...M-Mio is-!"

The two of them went back into the main room where Nana and Mio had been left seriously injured from the strange encounter. "So you were here too, huh?" Bandou noticed Nana clutching her stomach where the balls impacted. "Damn...She took two hits..."

"Wanta! You're okay~!" Mayu was surprised and relieved to find her miniature companion was up and wagging his tail again even after getting kicked into the wall.

"You should be more worried about you're human friend over there." Bandou nodded his head towards Mio, who was still face down, though she appeared to be breathing and making some grumbling noises.

"Roger Bandou-san!" Mayu made a salute as she enacted her new orders. "C'mon Mio-chan, I'll get you some bandages and medicine!"

Bandou lifted out his lighter and pocket knife, "Hey, can you also get some sakéor cooking wine or something?" Bandou gave Nana a folded up piece of cloth, "Here, just bite onto this for a second." As he heated up the knife with his lighter he gave Nana a brief chance to prepare herself. "Now this is gonna hurt like a bitch..."

Mayu sighed as she went into the kitchen, unable to stomach what was about to come.

…

"I'm surprised she fell to that moron so easily," Bandou noted as he was about to leave. Nana had been put to bed after her stomach wounds were dressed. "She might get a fever so make sure you keep an eye on her for a while."

Mio had already woken out of her unconsciousness but was still showing obvious signs of concussion. "Are you sure you don't want to stay here Mio-chan?" Mayu asked in concern for her friend.

Mio offered a weak but reassuring smile, even though half of her head was now covered in scratches, bruises and bandages. "I'm fine, but thanks for the offer; it seems there's been enough trouble here today without me staying over... Thanks for helping me out Bandou-san." Mio bowed as she made her way out.

Bandou watched over as Mayu's friend made an early exit. "Don't worry, she took a hard blow to the head but she's tougher than she looks...I'll make sure she gets herself home," Bandou reassured the worrywart Mayu.

"...And what about you Bandou-san?" Mayu asked, cupping her hands together.

Bandou looked down at his stomach area. "Oh this? Bah! It's nothing really!" _Especially compared to having your arms and eyes ripped out... _"And the toxin wore off too."

"Bandou-san..."

"Ugh...What now?" Bandou was beginning to get bothered by the girl's constant chatter, but was caught by surprise when the tiny girl wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Thank you for everything!" Mayu wailed as she expressed her thanks, dampening Bandou's bandages with her tears of appreciation.

"Alright, alright...Enough already!" Bandou just couldn't seem to express any humility even at this moment. "Y'know this means we're even now? So don't call me anymore, 'kay?" He ruffed Mayu's hair one last time as he was about to leave, terminating the contract he had made with this child for good. "Take care..."

"_Hello? We're back!_" The sound of people arriving from the front door came just as Bandou was about to depart. Nobody else could have realised that on both sides of that doorway, two fierce and bitter rivals were about to come face to face in less than desirable circumstances.

Bandou stared at the four figures standing at the doorway before him, but there was only one person he was really after. The person with pink hair...The person who once possessed horns...The person who always says 'Nyu' when around Kouta and the others...The person who has driven Bandou on a path of vengeance to this very day.

And that person was equally as startled when she noticed the large, aggressive looking man inside the Maple Inn.

Though she knew many words and was quite intelligible at this stage, the only word she could say at this moment was...

"~Nyu?"

~"_Was it fun?"~_

"Nyu?"

~"_I'll never forget your face!"~_

"'Nyu'...is that all you have to say?"

~"_I'm bored..."~_

"Mayu, is this girl an acquaintance of yours?"

~"_GAAARRGGHH! MY EYES! YOU BITCH! I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU I SWEAR IF THAT'S THE LAST THING I DO!"~_

Bandou would end it now with one bullet – that's all it would take...

"BANDOU DON'T-"

SWUP...

CLICK...

**BANG!…**

* * *

><p><strong><strong>Elfen Lied: The Second Verse <strong>- **Episode 5 Preview

_"I've been waiting for over six months for another rematch."_

_"We have an urgent need for the spinal cords of these girls."  
><em>

_"I have just one thing I want you to promise me..."_

****_"Next time I see him, he's dead!"_****

_"There's something about Nyu which nobody else in this house knows about..."_

A long and bitter rivalry has resurrected itself. Beast and Demon will fight for supremacy, but who can we hope achives victory? Who's the true enemy when everyone you know is hiding an alternate truth to this world? Who will we shed a tear for after they reach the infinite ocean? Do NOT miss the next thrilling episode of _Elfen Lied: The Second Verse_...**  
><strong>


	5. Episode 5: Vergeltung

****I've been getting empowered by the increased number of reviews lately so thanks to the new faces as well as my regular reviewers for giving me the motivation to get this one up in less than 7 days again. There will be some more divergences which will become apparent in this chapter just to keep some unpredictability going. I must say I'm really enjoying this so I'll shut up now and let you all read the 5********th******** Episode of ******_**Elfen Lied: The Second Verse.**_**

Track 5 - Playlist (I bet you can tell who my favourite band is)

Kill Bill Vol. 1 OST – Twisted Nerve (The Whistle Song)

Rammstein - Nebel

Bleach OST 1 – Enemy Unseen

t.A.T.u – 30 Minutes

t.A.T.u – Time of the Moon (Goth Metal Version)

Witchblade OST – Narcissistic Father

Rammstein – Hilf Mir

Rammstein - Spiel mit Mir

X-Ray Dog – Dark River

Fairy Tail OST 2 – Released Power

Bleach OST 2 – Torn Apart (For extra foreshadowing geheehee)

* * *

><p><strong>Track 5: Vergeltung (報復): Retribution<strong>

_~I awoke to find...just a life dirtied with enemy blood. I've been dishing out violence to anything that rubbed me the wrong way for as long as I remember. I'm satisfied with that, for I am overwhelmingly strong. Even unarmed, I'd never back off before any weapon, no matter how strange it might be. That was what defined me. Consequently, I've felt neither __fear nor honour. Never loved by anyone, never in love with anyone. I don't need that kind of thing. Any human is an enemy to me. If I died, there wouldn't be a single bastard who'd shed a tear for me...Obviously, I haven't paid attention to other people's feelings, and I think I'm kind of proud of it. Yet...~_

**…**

"AGH!" Nana was frightened out of her slumber by a haunting sensation, a sensation she had not felt for a long time...but she dreaded the time she would feel that sensation again, because she knew the moment that presence awakened, she could no longer enjoy the life she was having with Mayu, Kouta, Yuka, Nozomi and Wanta...

Nana rose from her bed, panting and sweating profusely as she woke to her true nightmare.

_Lucy has finally awoken!_

**…**

"AH! Now that's more like ya!" Bandou laughed cockily as he faced the awakened demon. Nyu had transformed into her 'true' nature – Lucy had awoken from the gunshot, saving herself at the last nanosecond and leaving only a grazing bullet wound on her cheek.

"Nyu! Are you okay?" Yuka rushed over to the awakened Diclonius.

"Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing pulling a gun on us like that?" Kouta stepped forward to defend his house-mates.

"I've been waiting for over six months for another rematch. I wasn't satisfied with that last fight we had," Bandou growled at his Primera enemy in this world, "I won't be satisfied until one of us dies!"

Kouta stepped in front of Nyu defensively. "Who the hell are you anyway? Get out of here before I call the police!"

Bandou lifted Kouta by the collar. "SHADDAP! I AM DA FUCKING POLICE!" Bandou continued, spraying his saliva across Kouta's face. "Rain, snow, hail or shine, I've been on a one-man mission to kill that horned man-slayer!"

"Man-slayer..." Kouta was reminded of Nyu's past atrocities. "So Nyu has done something bad to you as well?"

"Of course she has ya scrawny punk!" Bandou quickly answered. "She's the bitch who says 'Nyu' all the time, the bitch who did this to my body." Bando flicked his right arm, pulling down the sleeve which revealed his robotic limb.

"My God!" Yuka and the other girls gasped at the man's body. "Nyu would never do such a thing! Nyu's-"

"That's enough Yuka!" Kouta silenced her as he was lowered down by the human terminator. "Nyu...or whoever you are called at the moment, a word please."

"Hey, don't you be takin' my prey away from me!" Bandou barked over to the boy.

"Don't worry sir, we'll be one moment." Kouta took Lucy aside from the rest of the group so they could speak in private.

"Are you the girl from eight years ago?" Kouta asked Lucy.

Lucy looked up at Kouta with melancholic eyes. "Kouta...It's you?"

"I must find more answers about what you did eight years ago," Kouta said with urgency. "I need to know why, or at least what motivated you to commit such a horrible thing to Ka-"

"OI! TIME'S UP! It is my turn now!" Bandou pushed past Yuka and Nozomi as he walked over to his target.

"Bandou please stop this!" Mayu clung by her hero's arm.

Bandou showed no reciprocal appreciation by violently shaking Mayu off his arm. "And you...Did you think it was funny, putting that cutesy act on whilst hiding a horned-freak? HUH? AGH, don't ever speak to me again!"

"Now just hold on a mi-" Kouta was stopped again through Bandou's fist.

"Kouta!" Yuka rushed over to her fallen cousin.

"You all think it's a game, don'tcha? Boarding a fucking horned-freak as if she were just an ordinary human. You brats need to learn what kind of monster you're dealin' with here...She's-"

**"You can shut up now..." **Lucy silenced the mighty Bando with lethal words.

"Ooh, playing decent now eh?" Bandou chuckled. "Well, if we're done fart arsing aroundhere, I suggest we finish this on our favourite battleground. I'll be waiting." Bandou turned and was about to set off when he paused. "I know you will come follow me...Coz if ya don't I'll come back here and bury this mob of yours myself!"

As the commando warrior left from sight Yuka looked over to Nyu "Nyu, you're not seriously going with that man are you?"

"Don't worry, I'll be right back..." Lucy promised as she was about to part with the Maple Inn once again.

"Hey..." Kouta called back Lucy just as she was about to leave. "Now that I can speak to you like this...I have just one thing I want you to promise me..."

Kouta mouthed just three words to Lucy, reading his lip movements Lucy forced a smile and nodded. "Okay Kouta...I promise..." And with those parting words, the Maple Inn was left somewhat empty once again.

…

ENOSHIMA BEACH:

There was one other player who had arrived on the sandy arena before anyone else. He remained hidden behind a group of boulders, groaning as he tried pulling a spiked ball out of his rear-end.

**"****GEEGH! Crap! I can't pull it out!" **He resorted to injecting his shoulder with a drug to loosen the pain.** "****Who the fuck was that guy? Next time I see him he's dead! No one humiliates **_**me**_ **and lives to-"**

That opportunity would come soon as he noticed the giant figure walking down the stairs leading down to the beach. The Man jerked behind a rock, out of site of the hunter.** "****Did he follow me? I'll finish him with-" **The Man felt around his jacket before realising.** "****Drat! I must have left it at that damn house! Now what am I going to do?****"**

He pondered his next move, watching Bandou as he was stood idly on the beach, before he noticed another presence make their way onto the sandy shore.** "****Somebody else...It's...Lucy!****"**

Bandou looked at his arm, mimicking someone checking their watch, before he heard Lucy's footsteps. "Ah, I wasn't sure how long you were going to keep me waiting! But it seems you're keen to get this done and over with now eh?"

Lucy stepped forward, the hair which had grown over months brushed over her face, revealing only the demonic sparkles in her eyes, "I have something else to protect now."

"Hehe, now I'm getting pumped!" Bandou's depraved grimace returned as Lucy started raising the grains of sand around her body with her invisible blades of death.

An equally blood-lusting grin came from Lucy as she reached towards her enemy with her vector hands.**"With all this excitement, your brain's blood vessels ripping will almost be natural...Enjoy the feeling...It will be like dying in your sleep..."**

…

"Where did Nana go?" The four human residents of the Maple Inn were shocked to find a second person had left suddenly. Only a pile of blood-soaked bandages were left as a reminder of Nana's presence.

"Now Nana is gone too? Do you think that man might have something to do with this, Kouta-kun?" Yuka leaned her head on Kouta's shoulder, expressing her maternal concern for her pink-haired house-mates.

Kouta's expression was rather ordinary for someone who had both witnessed Nyu being taken away and been on the receiving end of a punch. "We should just take it easy tonight, if they don't return by tomorrow then we can search the town for them."

Yuka tried reasoning with the man of the house, "But Kouta, aren't you worried what that man might do to Nyu-san?"

_I don't really know what I should do anymore..._"Yes, but it's too late to be searching all night. Besides, Nyu promised she would return very soon."

"Yeah but..." Yuka lowered her gaze, "But I'm worried that man might take Nyu away somewhere like Professor Kakuzawa tried to do, remember?"

_That man appears to have been a victim of the other Nyu's past as well..._"He didn't seem like that to me," Kouta said with a very neutral, almost nihilistic tone in his voice. "Nyu volunteered to go with the man, so she knows what she's doing."

"But Kouta-"

"Maybe it would be for the best if we didn't see those two again..." Kouta should have kept those last words in his thoughts as they had certainly troubled Yuka.

SLAP. Yuka couldn't even bring her face up to see her cousin just to show how angry she was at that point. "How...just...just how can you even say that? Nyu and Nana...They belong here, don't they? Why have you changed all of a sudden...?" Yuka's shoulders shook as she tried hiding her tears – tears even she was surprised of. She had only once cried for Nyu, but never had she brought on such sorrow and empathy by herself. It seemed that whilst Yuka had grown a liking to Nyu and Nana over the last six months, Kouta's behaviour had been lingering with internal doubts that even Yuka couldn't comprehend. Yuka wanted to know just what the hell was making Kouta doubt himself? And what were those words he had mouthed to Nyu just before she left?

She couldn't stand to be around Kouta while he was like this. So out of genuine concern for Nyu, she turned away from him and moved to get her coat, "If you won't look for her then I will."

"Let me look for Nana and Nyu-san as well!" Mayu suddenly volunteered.

"Okay, Nozomi-chan can stay here with Kouta." Yuka gathered her belongings as she was about to leave,_"__I just hope it's only the concussion that is making you act so strangely.__"_

Yuka, Mayu and Wanta departed in their search for the two pink-haired housemates, leaving Kouta and Nozomi in a room that showed signs of violent home invasion; blood, torn sliding doors and broken walls.

"_You should know by now that horned-people and humans cannot co-exist."_

Kouta walked over to the other side of the room, scraping his fingers along the dried blood which now painted the wall, _What kind of hell have I gotten myself into?_

Kouta would ponder that thought amongst many others as he slumped forward into a world of darkness.

…

MEANWHILE: DICLONI RESEARCH FACILITY:

"How's the doctor doing?" one of the numerous researchers who dwell in the facility asked his co-worker.

"Dining somewhere..." The co-worker answered while slurping a cup of ramen noodles.

The researcher tucked his hands in his jacket. "Dining again eh? I hear his meals are quite extravagant."

"He-Yeah..." The man answered between large slurps, "He only eats candy, fancy that eh?"

"At any rate chocolate's the best," another voice came into the room.

"...And he just seems so weird, y'know?" the noodle-devourer continued, unaware of the new presence in the room.

"~Well, now am I just so sorry for being _'weird'_."

"Ack! S-S-Sumimasen, Nousou-sensei!" The two researchers bowed humbly.

The rather extravagant looking doctor bit his teeth into another pocky stick,"You mustn't make fun of it. Chocolate is absolutely tasty~." Aside from his constant munching of chocolate sticks, the man's smooth feminine features, his odd attire (including an apron and socks in sandals) and his blonde hair which was tied back into a ponytail gave the impression that this man was indeed the kind of calibre Director Kakuzawa would rely on for his plans for the new age of humanity. "Those alarms...?"

"Ahh...Yes doctor," the researcher tapped an array of buttons lining his desk.

"The numbers are quite low today," the odd doctor observed, scanning over the various graphs and numbers appearing on the screen.

"Yeah, it seems the incubator growth rate is slowing so it's no wonder-" the noodle-slurping researcher tried to explain.

SLIDE. The doctor and two researchers stared into the glass window as the metallic doors slowly rolled up to reveal the room on the other side. The noodle eater sighed, "For a job like this, it's becoming unexpectedly habitual."

The doctor smiled almost affectionately, "True. Keep in mind that we are doing all of this for the sake of the world."

The doctor walked across the room so he could appear in front of the glass window. The room appeared more like a slaughterhouse than any other holding room in the facility. The other room was darkly lit, with only the lab room's light revealing the bloody mess that was behind the window; conveyor belts transported the 'stock' like beef carcasses – only the carcasses were in fact the skeletal remains of something more human. If it weren't for the horribly disfigured heads these carcasses could be claimed to belong to humans. The doctor confirmed what was behind the window when he decreed that, "We have an urgent need for the spinal cords of these girls."

BRRRRRP. The Doctor's mobile rang in his pocket. He quickly answered, "Director Kakuzawa...Alright, I'll be there straight away." The phone call was brief. "Keep up the good work gentlemen, I've gotta see the big boss now."

As the doctor made his swift exit the two men faced each other with uneasy glances. "I think that man enjoys his job a little _too _much."

His companion hurled his empty cup-of-noodles container into a bin on the other side of room. "Yup. Fits right in with the rest of the weirdos here, that's for sure."

...

The doctor soon arrived in the director's elaborate office, the kind of office an emperor would claim – complete with shining blue tiles and a large window which occupied the rear wall so the entire watery abyss could be seen from inside. Director Kakuzawa kept his gaze facing the blue nirvana which contained all his thoughts and ambitions,"Nousou," Kakuzawa addressed the doctor, "Anna has prophesied; Lucy will be back in my hands in no time."

"Oh...Well that's splendid!" Nousou beamed.

"And how is your department faring, do you have the progress report?" Kakuzawa half turned so he could see the eccentric doctor.

Nousou lifted back his head and smiled. "Ahh...I have the results. Let me show you..."

…

Nousou took Kakuzawa back down to the underground dungeon. The pair walked briskly as they passed through a corridor of steel doors. Behind each and every door was a reminder of the barbaric legacy this island research facility possessed

"Not many of our staff know of this place," he kept talking as they walked past the array of mutated Diclonii, their horribly disfigured faces concealed in various shaped veils. "Most staff are familiar with the 35 recorded Silpelits we kept in captivity on the higher floors, but only a select few know of the 1,108 we store down here." Nousou lifted the door of one of the cells. "Out of those 1,108 ovula, only four were successful and have developed human faces."

The tiny cavern cell revealed four Silpelits huddled together in the dark corner, all of them appeared mature and surprisingly healthy in weight, their identities were hidden under strange shaped helmets. "Behold, director, these four are our side's Diclonii!"

…

CRNK.

_I can't live with them anymore..._

CRNK.

_Another enemy will just cause trouble for them._

SPLOTCH.

_Once again...I've lost my place to live..._

SMASH. Nana continued bashing her head against a metal pole. Wearing the dress Papa had given her, she tried to inflict some major head trauma for herself in a hopeless effort to make herself 'invisible'.

_If I lose my memory like Nyu, they won't be able to sense me...Then I could always be happy like Nyu-san...Then I could live with them all again..._

"*Heeee* DAMN!" CRUNCH. Nana continued bashing her head against the pole, her actions sparking the attention of a number of bystanders as they began pulling the girl away.

"What's your problem?", "Why are you hurting yourself like that?", "Perhaps she's got a mental problem...", "She's clearly out of it, I mean what are those things stickin' out of her head?", "Maybe we should call the hospital or something..." were just some of the varying comments the bystanders made as they grabbed Nana.

"NO! Let me go! I want to do this!" Nana seethed in frustration as she tried to break free from their grip, jabbing her head forward as if she could reach the pole.

Then a pulse passed through Nana's senses, making her pause, eyes widened. _Lucy...She's this close?_

…

"*Hup* Whoa! Hehe, that one felt pretty close." Bandou acted very cocky as he dodged a few of Lucy's invisible attacks. Lucy tried raising a curtain of sand in front of the man before charging through with her vectors, but Bandou kept shifting his body aside as if he were a Matador taunting an angry bull.

"You think I'm going to fall for your childish moves this time?" Bandou grinned in excitement. "I've been keeping my distance the whole time. You step forward and I step back yeah?"

Bandou was nearly cut off quite literally by another rogue vector of Lucy's. "This is stupid, you brought me down here just so you could play around? If you're not being serious I can just go home."

BANG. A taste Bandou's tungsten would change Lucy's mind. "I'm always serious baby...I've just been luring you to my favourite spot on this beach that's all."

Lucy turned her body, facing the human demon slayer. Bandou's grimace stretched even further across his face as Lucy was about to step forward. Bandou twirled his gun in a flashy gesture before putting it back in his jacket. "You can stop the macho act now...Just accept your demise and I may still offer you some mercy."

But instead Bandou snickered even louder as he crouched down and threw a chunk of sand at the Diclonius. As Lucy made the sand crumble in a force-field around her body she grew annoyed at her opponent's methods. "What's the big idea?"

Bandou tilted his head to the side, holding his sly grin. "You had me in round one because I didn't know a thing about your powers; you had me in round two because I had fought too rashly at the time; but round three is different." Bandou lifted his shades. "Them hands you got can destroy anything they touch, plus they can deviate a bullets trajectory and can be used to throw objects." Bandou then raised his index finger, "Yet their one weakness is the two metre range. Stepping in that range is a sure death wish, but of course you can always use projectiles for those outside your range..." Bandou spread out his arms in accomplishment. "Look how clean this beach is now? There is nothing you can use as a weapon - unless you wanna keep digging sand. Huhuhaha!" Bandou drew his gun again, grazing Lucy on the shoulder. "And for extra measure, I've got .50 calibre tungsten bullets." Bandou tapped his gun releasing the clip and juggling the bullets in his other hand. "Not even you could avert these bastards. BWAHAHA!"

In the distance, the Man continued watching the melee unfold, though from his perspective it appeared Lucy still had the upper hand. _Does he really think he can defeat Lucy just like that?_

After comprehending her situation Lucy paused, then shifted her stance to the side as if she were in a martial arts pose, holding out her left palm whilst coaxing Bandou with her right hand.

"GAGH! TEME!" Bandou was drawn in by Lucy's taunts and began firing his Tungsten bullets, only they didn't seem to be connecting this time. Lucy shifted her body back so she was side-on with the bionic-man. Bandou emptied his cartridge, failing to shed anymore of the 'horned-bitch's' blood. "FUCKING DIE ALREADY!" Bandou was losing his cool – if he had ever had it in the first place; but it seemed his plan was breaking apart, much like his limbs did in his first encounter with this girl.

The Man continued watching, hidden amongst the sidelines. _That fool...Lucy's short range vectors posses far superior strength to any other Diclonii...Not even those bullets will work on her...But well, isn't this quite the convenience...If that fool died but managed to wound Lucy in the process that would make for easy capture...There's just no way Lucy can be killed by this oaf!_

"Spare your bullets," Lucy suggested as she began stepping forward. **"Did you _really _think you could win just by collecting toys and garbage?"**

The sweat was starting to pour down Bandou's brow as Lucy began closing the gap between the two of them, nearing the critical range. But as Lucy took one more step forward Bandou's nerves appeared to be merely a phantom as his true confidence burst forward. "GEHAHAHA! You're right! My bullets can be deflected...I guess a bomb would warrant itself useless against you as well...HOWEVER! There is something I'm able to avoid that you can't." Bandou lowered his gun as he faced towards the ocean. "Ahh this nostalgic feeling, d'ya remember our first battle? It was right about HERE!." Bandou fired a round in the sand directly beneath his position. When the bullet hit the sand it triggered a spontaneous flash of light and noise which startled Lucy. In that brief moment of vulnerability Bandou puled out a small gas canister, pulling the pin and lobbing it beneath Lucy's feet.

Lucy tried covering her face but it the gas had already entered her nose and eyes.** "AAGGGHHH!"**

"BWAHAHA! How's my flash grenade/tear gas combo? Ya' just gotta love it! Now you realise the elaborate trap I'd set up here. My flash grenade was just waiting here beneath the sand for this moment...Then as you stumbled the tear gas goes straight in yer' eyes. You won't be able to open them for ten minutes." Bandou slowly stepped forward as he smelt his victory approaching. "Light and gas, two things your hands can't deflect. Why else would I be wearing these goggles if not to prepare for this moment? This beach is my domain...Just one big booby trap waiting for you to return, BWAHAHA!"

Lucy struggled back onto her feet as she tried to fight back with her transparent fists. The one-man army that was Bandou drew his .50 calibre and fired several rounds. Though Lucy could hear the sound of exploding gunpowder, without the critical sense of sight she was unable to avert the bullets as they clipped her arms and legs. _**"UWAAAGGGHH!"** _Lucy roared like an enraged beast as she bashed her vectors around her body, digging up sand and creating a miniature sandstorm around her body.

"HAHAHA! Do you still think dragging up some sand will help you win? Without your sight, your hands are useless now." Bandou took a few slow steps towards the raging Diclonius, pulling the slide on his .50 calibre, "I would love to take the chance to torture you slowly for ten more minutes, but I have to finish this now. Was it fun in the end? Losing your sight and having your limbs shot? If anything perhaps I was too merciful on a horned-bitch like you!" But as Bandou readied the trigger a shadowy figure barged over and shielded Lucy with his body.

**"****STOP! YOU MUSTN'T KILL THIS PERSON. IF YOU DO THE NEW AGE OF HUMANITY WILL BE LOST FOREVER!" **

"YOU LUNATIC! GET OUTTA THE WAY OR I'LL KILL YOU TOO!" Bandou's impatience showed as he loaded his .50 calibre.

**"****It's okay Lucy, we'll fight this man together.****"** The Man, in a rather surprising turn of character, gingerly held Lucy by the waist as she continued covering her eyes with her hands.** "****Don't worry...Let me be your eyes.****" **The Man grit his teeth in determination. Not only could he now retrieve Lucy and take his revenge out on the bozo who humiliated him earlier, but he had actually believed that Lucy and him could become allies.

And how wrong he was... Unfortunately, misconceptions against a Diclonius – especially one of Lucy's calibre – are not very forgiving. The Man didn't even have time to react when his head was twisted around 360 degrees, snapping off his body like an old twig.

Bandou was knocked over, along with his goggles, after the Man's head was thrown and collided with his own head. "Shit..." Bandou cursed rubbing the bridge of his nose. But even after his quick recovery, Lucy had already closed the gap – eyeing down the S.A.T hard-man with crusty eyes and a scornful gaze. "B-but how? You should still be blinded."

"Your plan seemed so foolproof, yet you had over-analysed," Lucy explained. "That bright flash forced my eyes shut so only a little bit of gas went in...You spent so much time building up your plan, yet it was full of cracks you missed...Nevertheless, you would have won if not for the interference." Bandou's face was frozen as the cold embrace of Lucy's vectors pierced into his brain.** "How unlucky for you...But you know, bestowing misfortune is a useful ability of mine too."**

SNAP...

…

Yuka, Mayu and Wanta both reached a small shelter as they continued their search for Nana and Nyu.

Yuka leaned against a wooden pillar to rest herself. "It's no good, they must've carried on pretty far."

"What if we split up?" Mayu recommended.

"No...It's not safe at this time of night." Yuka ruffled through her hair tirelessly, "Mou...Maybe Kouta was right, I guess we should go back home and try again tomorrow."

But Wanta's sudden yapping caught the attention of Mayu. "Wanta! Where are you running off to, wait for Mayu! Matte!" And so Mayu ran off in pursuit of her four-legged friend.

"Mayu-chan wait-" Yuka tried to stop her but held her hand to her chest in restraint. She knew that dog was a part of Mayu, and once Wanta found a trail Mayu would follow. But her motherly duties couldn't allow her to stay here. "Hold on! I'm coming too!"

…

The crunching sound of a head smashing came not from Bandou but from Lucy after a fishing float crashed into her nose. The Queen Diclonius flew across the sand and plummeted with a hard thud.

"I can't believe Lucy would ever be caught off guard...Did you not even sense my presence?" A mysterious voice suddenly entered the beach battle. The pink haired rival stepped forward, her hands by her side in rigid determination. "I remembered now I have to do it all myself...For Papa's sake, I vowed I would kill you once Lucy appeared..." Nana lowered her gaze as she continued her advance ."So feeling down will have to wait."

Nana walked over and offered a hand to Bandou. "Sir, with this I have returned the favour for saving me back at the Inn," she offered a solemn expression.

"HUH!" Bandou really didn't know the meaning of the word 'humble'. "When did I ask for your sympathy dumbass!"

Nana stomped her feet in frustration. "For fuck's sake stop picking up trash on the beach!"

"What?" Bandou ignored Nana's words and rose back to his feet. "Bestowing misfortune? What a load of shit? Let's get down to business eh?"

…

"Ugh..." Kouta woke up in his bedroom, not quite able to remember when he even lost consciousness. He could feel a warm cloth resting on his head, and he turned to discover Nozomi watching over his body like an owl. "Where's everyone else?" he asked in a groggy voice.

Nozomi smiled warmly as she noticed Kouta awaken, but then frowned again as she answered the boy's query. "Yuka and Mayu are still out looking for Nana-san and Nyu-san." She had another hot cloth prepared for Kouta in case he needed it.

"So it's just the two of us?" Kouta tried propping himself up with his elbow but Nozomi quickly pushed him back down as if she were a diligent nurse.

"Please don't get up just yet, you took a nasty hit back there. Just let Nozomi look after you..." she smiled, only this time quite suggestively. She had taken a few...'liberties' while he was unconscious, and now considered them even.

"Nozomi..." Kouta spoke in a reflective tone, snapping Nozomi out of her naughty thoughts, "There's something about Nyu which nobody else in this house knows about..."

"Ohh..." Nozomi shuffled her knees nervously. "And what is that?"

…

Bandou cracked his knuckles as he began to feel victory return. Nana's posture gave much less confidence as she limped over towards Bandou. "Sir, I can still barely use my 'hands' but I could maybe act as a decoy."

"Uh?" Bandou's eyes shifted back before he returned his gaze back to the fore. "As if I'd need backup from another horned-freak...I trust nobody but myself, so scram!"

Nana felt greatly insulted by Bandou's disregard of herself. "Very well...go ahead and die, just don't come crying to Nana when you're torn in two."

"Stupid girl, don't look down on me...Look." Bandou opened his jacket to revealing something to Nana. "This is my secret weapon."

Nana's eyebrows twitched as a nervous smile crept up her cheek. "Hehe...Now that's plainly unfair."

"Is your futile banter over now?" Lucy interrupted as she got back to her feet. "Just come, both of you." She curled her fingers tauntingly.

"GERR! I'll be enough for the like of you. HORNED-BITCH!" Bandou charged in with his .50 calibre handy.

"WHAT ARE YOU RUSHING INTO?" Nana cried out to the Japanese Rambo. The tear gas from before had left a thin cloud of fog, Bandou could see the sudden displacement of gas and dust and was able to avoid Lucy's vectors as he drew closer to the Diclonius.

Nana was amazed to see the inhuman warrior were and dodge all of Lucy's attacks. '_Hands' can be avoided?_

"DON'T LOOK DOWN ON ME! HOW MANY TIMES DO YOU THINK I'VE FOUGHT HORNED GIRLS?" Bandou roared in glory as he fired at short range. Lucy converged all her vectors as she tried holding back the bullet's trajectory. She grit her teeth as she finally stopped the bullet before lobbing it back at equal velocity towards Bandou, shooting through his own .50 calibre and destroying the very weapon it fired from. "HAHA...NOW!" Bandou laughed in triumph as he puled out his 'secret' weapon. It was in fact the crossbow that the Unknown Man possessed prior. He smiled with insidious delight as he fired a spiked ball straight onto Lucy's gut.

"*Cough!*" Lucy spewed blood as the two kilo projectile punched her to the ground. **"AAARRRGGHHH! Guh...Uuh..Fuck..get this off me!"** Lucy's faced warped in pain as she tried to release the barbed object from her belly.

Bandou now appeared as a dark tower glaring down upon the fallen Diclonius. **_**"Say...I wonder if you can still use your vectors?"**_** Bandou spoke in a very bold tone.**_**"Without those 'hands' your nothing but a mere girl."**_** He swiped Lucy with his palmed mechanical hand, "How did it feel getting it by my new hand? It's all thanks to you." Bandou pulled out a smaller handgun. "BWAHAHAHA! Have I won or what?"

Nana didn't seem to gain any pleasure in seeing Lucy brutalised like this. She was just hoping to see this end as soon as possible. _Papa...You can finally smile in heaven...Lucy will be dead and everyone can live together in peace._

Bandou's eyes narrowed as he bore a more scornful face. "...Yeah I've won...It's over now..." As Bandou pressed his gun against Lucy's horned head he could hear a faint voice behind him, so fragile and soft that he almost couldn't hear it at first. But then another whimper which called out to him, it sounded to him like it was calling...

**"**_Bandou-san? Why?"_

_..._

Kouta turned his head so he could face Nozomi's glistening eyes – the eyes which were trapped between innocence and despair. "Nyu did something terrible to my family eight years ago."

"Wha-" Nozomi brought her hand to her mouth to cover her shocked expression. "B-but Yuka told me your family died in an accident, isn't that right?"

Kouta slowly shook his head. "Tragically, that was not the case. Yuka only said that so I would never find out the truth."

Nozomi averted her gaze as she kept her hand close to her mouth. She asked a simple question, but somehow she felt as if she already knew the devastating answer Kouta would soon reveal to her. "Then...What does Nyu have to do with what happened to your family?"

...

Bandou turned towards the voice. It was none other than the girl he had owed his life to. The girl who would just never leave him alone – the girl he would often think of as the 'bothersome brat'. The girl who would always bring him warm meals, tell him about her day, her new friends, and her life with these wonderful people at the Maple Inn. The girl who he had now despised for holding Lucy behind his back and misleading his efforts to find her. The girl who he had said just a few hours ago that he never wanted to speak to again...

And yet he went towards her...

And she screamed out his name again...

And Lucy's vectors were coming...

Then...

...

Kouta closed his eyes as he revealed the horrible truth to the tense girl. "I don't want you to say this to Yuka, but the fact is, Nyu _murdered _my father and sister Kanae."

* * *

><p><strong>Elfen Lied: The Second Verse - <strong>Episode 6 Preview

_"LUCY'S DEAD! You killed her Bandou...You won..."_

_"I will keep this beach clean for you from now on."_

_"Why do I alway's have to clean up after other's mess?"_

_"By the way, you have a cute voice."_

_"Excuse me ladies and gentleman, but could you hand over Lucy now?"_

We can never truly find happiness, not when our soul continues finding itself trapped at a crossroads of doubt and uncertainty. The friendships we have made over the months and years must now come to an end. Do our hearts seek the truth? Or merely a sense of peace? You would be a fool to miss the next episode of _Elfen Lied - The Second Verse_


	6. Episode 6: Überlegung

****Hope everyone's having (or already had, if according to your respective timezones) a good Christmas. Getting this chapter uploaded is my present to all those who've stayed with this story up until this point. I know it must be a fair effort reading through those long chapters (5000 word averages are rare for me personally), so as a treat, Kringle-san has uploaded the latest episode on X-mas as well as offerred a colourful playlist for this episode. ****

****And I wish a Merry X-mas and a Happy to New Year to The Layman, Wolfman6696 and everyone who reviewed, favourited or alerted my story. I would have had Nyu bake a cake for you guys but she's currently locked in the cupboard (you won't get it unless you've checked out my latest X-mas X-over). ****

Track 6 - Playlist

Bleach OST 1 – Burden of the Past

Naruto OST 1 – Sadness and Sorrow

Burst Angel OST 1 – Shinjitsu no Kao

Skillet – Yours to Hold

Ikkitousen OST – Face to Face

Lucky Star OST – Tattatakata (so hard to decide, but any of them could go for this point)

Ergo Proxy OST – Wasteland Nostalgia

Elfen Lied OST – Shinkai

Berserk OST – Gatsu

Hugo Wolfe – Elfenlied

Oh you've all been good! Let's have one more for a Nostaligia hit!

DBZ OST (Bruce Faulconer) – Android 20 Theme

* * *

><p><strong>Track 6: Überlegung (考察): Reflection<br>**

_~I'm not 'superior' at all...I'm 'failure.' That's what Granny says...Maybe I'm bad at studying...But I just love running! When it comes to running, I won't lose to any boy...The teacher always praised me, saying that I was great. But...Father doesn't praise me...Yes! Father believes in Anna, so Anna will try hard! But...I can't...Grr! I can't give up either! I must try harder! Because Father says he believes that I'll be clever! Father! Just wait until I'll be 'superior'..._

_...Father didn't believe in Anna...So Anna won't be 'superior' ever...only failure...and will get 'operated'...I'm...'failure' after all...NO...It's better not to get 'operated' or something similar...Anna wants to live as is...wants to go and run...but...Father...Anna has always..._

_Father...Anna has become clever. Anna knows all about anything Father would like to know. But...even so, Anna...ANNA LOVES FATHER_

_Father...Anna knows...all the results...Father...YOU CAN DO IT, FATHER!~_

**…**

"There's something about Nyu which nobody else in this house knows about..."

~"_BANDOU-SAN!"~_

"Nyu did something terrible to my family eight years ago."

~"_BANDOU-SAN! HANG ON! PLEASE DON'T DIE! BANDOU-SAN!"~_

"The fact is, Nyu murdered my father and sister Kanae."

…

"W-why are you crying?"

…

"No...No Kouta, I-I don't believe it." Nozomi shook her head, though she somehow felt that what Kouta was speaking was in fact the truth.

"It's true." Kouta rose up from his laying position so he could be eye level with the timid girl. "I've known for quite some time now, living with the very person who took away two of the most important people in my life." Kouta cupped his hands together, reflecting on his grief stricken situation. "I just couldn't bear to bring it up in front of everyone because we were all living so happily together. For six months, I tried putting those realities at the back of my mind, but deep down I knew this life – this lie I was living, couldn't go on any longer." Kouta could see in Nozomi's eyes that she had been mortified by Kouta's revelation. "I'm sorry I had to put such a burden on you Nozomi-chan, but at the moment, you're the only one I feel comfortable enough to open up to about it."

Nozomi gulped away the nerves and anxiety she was holding onto at that point. "Kouta...I want to believe you, but it sounds like it would be too painful for you to tell me anymore."

"No..." Kouta sighed as he answered the nervous young lady, offering a smile which showed more sadness than joy as he brushed his hand through Nozomi's hair. "If you don't mind, I'll tell you all about the girl we know of as Nyu."

…

"Bandou-san, please don't die! Why, why did this have to happen?" Bandou slowly opened his eyes. Though his vision was greyed, he could make out an outline of a young girl hovering over his numb body. He could hear her painful cries and felt the pouring raindrops of grief along his cold and numb face. "If I wasn't here, you wouldn't have to die trying to protect me."

_What is she on about? Who the hell was I protecting anyway?_Then Bandou remembered those flashing moments as he barged in front of the girl in a soppy but chivalrous effort to 'save' her. _Ah, that huh? So I was trying to protect that brat afterall...But... _Those next flashes reminded Bandou of what happened to his body as a result of his final heroism. He recalled the moment the lower half of his body separated that instant he blocked the girl's path. He recalled the brief flash of light bursting from his gun as he fired one last bullet as that 'horned bitches' head. Did he finish her off for good? Could he leave this world with some sense of victory afterall?

"THAT FUCKING BITCH!" Bandou shouted out rather abruptly, causing Mayu to flinch. She cradled Bandou's head in her lap as she continued dampening Bandou's face with her own sadness. "Where is she eh? Let me slug her another one dammit!" Bandou jerked his head up as he tried moving his body, but was frustrated to find the he was locked firmly to the ground – bound by his own missing lower torso.

"Lucy, she's..." Mayu was about to answer Bandou when she noticed the cloudiness overcoming his pupils. She spoke her sobs "Bandou...san...Nyu...has-"

"I can't see! Where has she gone? Did my last bullet hit her? I swear I'm not done with her yet if she's still crawlin' around somewhere sayin' 'Nyu~' or whatnot."

Nana watched over the two of them as Mayu nestled the upper half of Bandou's body in her lap. She couldn't help but feel sad for Bandou's demise – though more of her empathy was given to Mayu who seemed far more devastated of this aggressive human's passing. She tugged the sleeve of the black dress which she remembered her Papa by. "Bandou-san...Lucy, she, well...she evaded the-"

"SHE'S DEAD!" Mayu blurted out over Nana's soft words. For a girl her size, even Bandou was rather shocked at the amplitude of her voice at that point. "The bullet went through her forehead so she's dead! Her body is over there!" Mayu stabbed a finger towards a random spot on the beach where Wanta happened to be sitting. She knew it didn't really matter where she pointed since Bandou had lost his vision at that point. She also knew it was wrong for her to lie, but she also knew that if she could convince Bandou that Nyu-san had in fact been killed, then at least he could pass over without any regrets. "Lucy's dead...You killed her Bandou...You won!"

Bandou was shocked at first, judging by the gaping expression on his lips, but soon he showed his true colours that even death's grasp could not hold back. "HELL YEAH! I FUCKING WON BABY! *CAGH* *URGH*!" Bandou stopped laughing after he coughed up more blood. "Oh man, so I was a winner in the end..." He said more calmly as the blood continued trailing down the corner of his mouth.

_That's right Bandou...I will make sure you feel happiness in these last..._

"So, hehe..." a devious grin slowly formed on Bandou's ragged face, "How're ya gonna repay me now?"

Mayu smiled as she wiped back the tears, "I think I know how..." Mayu offered her repayment to the fallen giant in the form of an innocent kiss. Even Nana was on the verge of tears at that point; witnessing Mayu's sheer love for this man, as repulsive and deplorable as his exterior facets may have been, reminded Nana of her own love for her Papa.

Bandou's eyes widened with surprise. "You-but...what was that for? I don't need brats kissing me!"

But Bandou's protests only made Mayu admire him even more as her smile of sadness grew. "You're an interesting man Bandou-san; from the first day we met at this beach, you were much the way you are now. Though at first you seemed very hostile and scary, I've actually grown to adore you, Bandou-san," She giggled softly as she kept back more of her true grief.

Bandou's face turned sour after hearing those words. "Ahh...What the hell! Is this a love story now?"

But Bandou was merely covering up his own true feelings in the end as he reflected within himself, _I can't tell this brat, but I've finally realised why I went through pains to get her closer to me...It seems it was because...I really hoped that at least one person out there would cry over my death – how fucking pathetic, what the hell have I turned into? _

Bandou threw away his true thoughts for another moment, "Strange...it seems I have no regrets left." _Even if I was unable to kill Lucy._

Mayu wiped away some of the blood from Bandou's mouth as she sighed softly. "Then, Bandou-san...You shouldn't die."

Bandou chuckled weakly as he proudly boasted, "You gotta be kidding! Like hell my beautiful self could die..." Bandou would defy logic and leave this world in as much arrogance and bravado as possible. As the tyrant felt his last breaths approaching, he lifted his left arm so he could feel the softness of Mayu's skin. "Well, since I won, I guess I deserve a break now, kid." Mayu brought his hand up so she could feel it against her cheek. "Ma...yu..."

Mayu was astonished. The first time he had ever addressed her by her name would prove to be his last though, as Mayu noticed his arm going limp and his eyes slowly closing in an eternal slumber. "No...Bandou-san...You said you couldn't die! Bandou-san! BANDOU-SAN!" She began trembling as she shook his body in a hopeless effort to revive the man. "Please wake up! You say my name but you haven't told me how you feel about me! BANDOU-SAAAN!" Her tears returned in their torrents as she cried over the man she had found a liking to.

Yet cruel fate's actions would not allow Mayu the dignity to remain with her fallen as the bright lights indicated somebody else's arrival. Nana had to pry the poor girl away from Bandou's body before she accepted her tears, dampening the shoulder of her dress. "NANA! WHY!"

But Nana knew why as she clenched her fist. "We can't get caught here, we have to avenge this man." _As long as she lives...There will be more grief..._**_Next time I see her – Lucy or Nyu, she's dead!_**

As the two girls made their escape in the shadows of the night another person had come across the awful scene which had just occurred in this tiny strip of coastline. She couldn't hold her stomach as she noticed the man's gut's spilling across the sand.

_Oh my God! What the hell happened here? Where's Mayu and Nana...Where's Nyu? What if something happened to them as well? _

"OI! YOU THERE!" A sudden burst of light came across the woman as someone else made their way up the beach. She couldn't stay here any longer, with the situation as it was, she had to return home and spread her news. Before the burning light could strike her face she made a quick departure from this bloody shore as well.

The mysterious person turned off the torch as they made their way towards the fatal aftermath. "Foolish bystanders..."

…

As Kouta revealed more of his harrowing past with the girl she, Yuka and everyone in the Maple Inn knew as Nyu, she slowly began to believe more of the devastation that this girl had inflicted upon Kouta.

She took up the courage to offer a few words. "But if Nyu is truly a dangerous person, does that mean she can no longer live here?"

Kouta slumped his shoulders after unloading his troubled thoughts. "Honestly, I was glad to see Nyu when she came back for the first time in over a month, because I had always had a a selfish attachment to the girl we all came to know of in this house. But deep down, no matter how you look at it, she committed murder against not just my own family, but others as well." Kouta lowered his head in deeper consideration. "Even so...I know that if Nyu couldn't return, everyone would miss her, and I would miss her too."

Nozomi shifted her gaze to the door as she tried unravelling her own take on the situation. "I've only known the Nyu who is soft, kind-hearted and generous to everyone. I believe that is the side of Nyu she really wants to be."

Kouta looked back up at Nozomi with stunned eyes, "You really think so?"

Nozomi made a small nod. "These last five months have been the happiest of my life, because I was able to live here and get to know you all as a family. I adore Nyu, and I think this house would feel empty without her."

Kouta sighed, "I'm afraid in the end, you've made me agree, Nozomi-chan. Nyu is definitely not the same person from eight years ago, so if she makes you and everyone else happy, then I will be happy to see her return as well." Kouta tried getting out of bed but fell back when he felt the aches return in his head. "AHH! It seems I'm still helpless in the end though!" He tried laughing it off as Nozomi rested him back to his lying position.

"You should rest now; you've told me a lot of things, so just rest for now," Nozomi offered an cheerful face as she sat by Kouta's mattress. _If only Yuka and Mayu knew of Nyu's past with Kouta? But why did he feel comfortable enough to tell me in the end? Does this really mean...?_

...

MEANWHILE: SOMEWERE IN THE FORESTS OF KAMAKURA

"Ugh..." Lucy plucked out the spiked ball with her vectors. She braced herself against a tree as the felt the early glimpses of sunrise cast light on her body. "I feel sleepy..."

…

Back on Enoshima beach the mysterious person had finished making a few calls as they watched over the body of Bandou as well as the head and body of another Man.

"Geez, I guess this is what happens to those who go toe-to-toe with that girl." The fanning blades of a chopper soon brought a heavy breeze down upon the beach. The person knelt down so they could observe Bandou's body. "Former S.A.T officer Bandou, you were the first one to tussle with that girl and survive." Then the person moved over and lifted up the head of the Man by his hair. "I've heard some interesting tales about you too."

As the chopper began hovering ten metres overhead, the person began unrolling a couple of bags. "Fuck me...why do I always have to clean up after other people's mess?"

…

THE NEXT MORNING:

"Darn. This beach is so dirty, isn't it Wanta?" Mayu would end up returning to that same beach the very next day, as she picked up another scrap of paper from the beach she lifted an arm over her head to shield her eyes from the morning sun's bright and somewhat ironic glare.

_The sun no longer shines on this beach. Not after the terrible incident..._

"There we are," Mayu forced out another superficial smile as she looked down at her four-legged friend, "All clean~! I think Bandou w-would be h-happy if he knew I was continuing his legacy like t-this... *sniff*" As if triggering a garden sprinkler, the waterworks soon returned as Mayu recalled the horrible way Bandou had to leave this beach – and ultimately leave this world. Furthermore, as if to make her loss even more tragic, she couldn't even find the body the next day. "I can't even say goodbye to you properly." Mayu dropped her bag and utensils as she collapsed to her knees as more tears arrived. "Why did Nyu-san have to do such a thing? What happened to the Nyu I grew up with?" She turned her head so she could gaze out at the infinite blue horizon. "Look at me Wanta, I wonder *sniff* what Bandou-san would say if he saw me cry- *hic* crying like this?"

…

MAPLE INN:

Kouta had been pacing around the house ever since he woke up. Though Nozomi was still sleeping peacefully _he_had barely received any shut-eye that night, concerned for everyone who had left the Maple Inn. None of them had returned yet – not even Yuka. At that point, Kouta felt more alone than when the first night he spent in the Inn.

"Yuka, Mayu, Nana, Nyu...Where did you all go?" Kouta continued mumbling to himself as he pondered their possible whereabouts. "Agh~! How silly is this? I should be out looking for them too, not staying here sulking about it."

Kouta tapped on some joggers as he prepared to go out in his own search. He placed a hand on the doorway and looked back at a sleeping Nozomi. She hummed softly in her sleep – Kouta thought she might be dreaming of her maiden performance.

_Don't worry Nozomi...I'll bring everyone back home._

…

Back in the depths of Kamakura forest, somebody else awoke from their awkward slumber.

"Mnh...Nyu~?" The softer side of Lucy had awoken, her face pressed against the abrasive grass. "Uhg...Where am I-Argh!" Nyu seethed as she felt a sharp pain in her belly. "Nyu~! What is this? It hurts." Nyu whimpered softly to herself as she limped to her feet and began scouring the forest for the others.

"Kouta-san! Yuka-san! Nozomi-san! Nana-chan! Mayu-chan!" Lucy kept shouting out to the seemingly endless green labyrinth.

"Minna-san!"

…

"Have you cleaned the beach for today?" Nana asked Mayu while sitting in a small rotunda.

"Yeah...The weather's nice today, isn't it?" Mayu sat next to her horned-friend. After a moment of silence, Mayu suddenly spoke to Nana. "Let's return to the Maple Inn."

"That's not possible for me anymore," Nana revealed with a melancholic tone. "Me being there...it would just cause more trouble for everyone." Nana suddenly sunk her face into her palms as she began sobbing. "Gomenasai Mayu; you were nearly killed by Lucy yesterday, and that other Man at the Maple Inn...It's all my fault."

"Don't say that Nana-san..." Mayu tried to cheer up her friend, "Because we would all be sad if you could never return to the Maple Inn."

Nana looked up at Mayu with crusty eyes of anguish. "Mayu-san, please don't go back to that house anymore. We can just stay here and hide from Nyu-san."

Mayu pulled back after she heard those words. "Nana-san...you can't be serious?"

Nana nodded firmly, "We can never go back there now, not after you've seen who Nyu-san really is." Nana rose from the bench as she revealed to the petite young girl, "**I'm afraid we can no longer live together in happiness – not while Nyu-san still breathes in this world.**"

…

"Nana-san! Mayu-chan! Yuka-san!" Kouta kept calling out their names as he descended the long stairs. "Geez, how far could they have all wandered off to in one night?"

When Kouta turned into a narrow street he was able to find some relief. At least one of the Maple inn residents was nearby. He began calling her name as he went over to her.

"Yuka! Thank goodness...Where have you been all night? Is Mayu with y-" Kouta noticed Yuka was leaning against a concrete wall, her eyes were bagging and were locked wide open. Her mouth slightly open in an almost zombie-like expression. She leant her back against the wall with her head leaning forward and her arms crossed over in a half hunched position. "Yuka are you alright."

Yuka suddenly snapped out of her comatose-like trance. "Kouta?" Yuka began shivering as she collapsed forward into Kouta's nurturing arms. "I saw something utterly horrifying last night...That man who came to our house, he-" Yuka could barely speak as she began bawling over Kouta's shoulder. "Why did this all happen? We were all living happily for so long...But now I think something horrible may have happened to Mayu, Nana and Nyu."

Kouta stroked Yuka's hair softly as he tried comforting her. "I'm sorry Yuka. I'm so weak, I couldn't protect any of you. I should've went after Nyu instead of arguing with you last night." Kouta wrapped his arms around Yuka as the pair of them began shedding their own tears of grief and regret.

_I didn't want Yuka – of all people __– __to be exposed to the truth about Nyu. But it's obvious what happened to that man from before...Yuka doesn't need to tell me...After all, I've already witnessed the dark side of that girl we knew as Nyu..._

Kouta brushed back Yuka's hair as he offered a weak smile. "Come on, let's get you back home for now...It's my turn to look for Nyu now."

…

MEANWHILE, AT AN UNKNOWN LOCATION:

"So you've recovered the S.A.T officer's body?" a man with shadows over his eyes spoke behind a desk.

"Hai, Kachou," the shady figure from the beach answered formally. "As for the other body, I've already sent it on its way back to Kakuzawa's facility."

"Excellent work," the chief regarded. "And what of Lucy?"

"Unfortunately we were to late by the time we arrived and she had already ran away." The figure adjusted a small pair of shades which further concealed their identity.

"We cannot allow that Diclonius to roam around civilian populations for any longer." The chief walked over to the other side of his desk, "Well, shouldn't you be on your way now?"

The figure saluted the senior figure. "Of course, Kachou."

…

LATER THAT EVENING:

Yuka rose from the table as soon as she heard footsteps at the door. When she saw only one pair of feet enter the house she frowned. "No luck finding them?"

Kouta shook his head. "Iie. I searched the entire town but there was no trace of them anywhere!" Kouta threw himself on the floor, spreading his arms out in exhaustion. "I guess I'll just have to try again tomorrow."

Nozomi leaned forward from the table with a worried expression. "Um...If it helps at all...Maybe that lady we met at the University might know something about Nyu's disappearance, couldn't she?"

Kouta and Yuka both turned to Nozomi then looked back at each other. "Nozomi-chan might be right."

…

KAMAKURA UNIVERSITY - THE NEXT MORNING:

In one of the small labs occupying the science block a strange young woman was observing herself with great concentration through a mirror. For some odd reason (perhaps for the sake of science) she was studying her own naked body – well not entirely naked, the bespectacled woman did have two white stickers covering her two little piggies.

"WAGH~! There's no _way _I could be a pleasure slave!" The eccentric scientist bit her teeth into a cloth as if she were trying to numb pain. "Why did I agree to the creeps stupid bet? If I wasn't so cowardly I would have caught Lucy then and there."

A knock came from the door. "_Ano...Sumimasen?"_

"AGH! Ch-Chotto matte!" The naked scientist scurried into a storeroom as she slipped on a labcoat. "Who's there?"

When she went over and opened the door, she was startled when she came face to face with the same boy from the other day. His expression was far more serious though as he stepped into the room. "Miss Arakawa is it? Can I ask you something?"

The crazy science lady slumped her head as her shoulders started shaking. A cold, almost silent chuckle built up as she lifted her head back up, revealing a shimmering gaze and a devious triangular grin. "HAHA! _Now_ I've gotcha boy!"

"Huh?" Kouta stepped back but Miss Hyde (formerly Arakawa) had already caught him in her superhuman grapple as she tackled him to the ground with her face over his legs.

"There's no escape! Just accept it." Arakawa kept the boy locked to the ground in her mighty, sciencey grip. "Thanks to you," she bemoaned, "I'm about to become a pleasure-."

PRRT.

A slight squeaking noise interrupted the already awkward conversation. Was it a mouse? Or perhaps someone sat on a leather chair. Kouta found out what the noise was the hard way as he nearly collapsed unconscious from the odour.

But sounds can't possibly make odours – unless it was...

"KYAH!"

…

SOME AKWARD-FILLED MINUTES LATER:

"Well if you must know, I've been holding that one in all day." Arakawa tried acting more dignified as she sat by her desk.

"Never mind that, I want you to tell me if you know anything about where Nyu might be." Kouta crossed his thumbs together.

Arakawa flicked her head to the side in defiance. "Hmph. So you've come crawling back, even though you ran away yesterday...Y'know you've got quite some cheek to come here and- EHHH?" Arakawa suddenly flipped out again as she jumped off her chair. "That horned-girl? You called her 'Nyu' the other day right? Isn't she living with you?"

Kouta rose form his feet in frustration. "That's why I'm here! I have to know where she was taken to by a man wearing sunglasses."

Arakawa's shoulders went limp as she recalled the other 'Man' with sunglasses. _So he's already got her? It's over for me now...I will become his pleasure slave and lose all my wonderful innocence and dignity...Why did this have to happen to me – an aspiring scientist? _

"Well it seems like you don't know anything either, so I'm sorry I bothered...well...whatever you were doing before..." Kouta began to leave when the phone by her desk started ringing.

Arakawa picked up the phone and answered sternly "Moshi-moshi, Kamakura University chief science aid Arakawa speaking. Eh? Dead?" Her expression changed again into one of shock before it eased into more of a neutral expression. "I see...Well I suppose that is quite shocking then..." She turned herself away from the boy. "Lucy? What have _I _found?" Arakawa slightly turned back so she could see Kouta. _"I'll call back later._" she whispered to the phone as she terminated the call. "Honestly, of all the things that could possibly go wrong..." Arakawa shuffled back around so she could face Kouta, for the thirty-seventh time her expression transformed, only this time it was one of darkness. **"That man you said took 'Nyu'...Has been killed, by Lucy.**" _Good riddance...I guess I'll have to thank her for that one at least._

"What!" Kouta rose from his chair. "Nyu killed that man?" Kouta wanted to deny it, but could she have really committed the ultimate sin yet again? "No she couldn't have...Not after she made that promise..."

~"_...I have just one thing I want you to promise me..."~_

"Fine, don't believe me," Arakawa waved her hand casually. "But now that man's dead, I have no need to pursue that girl anymore." Though he was most likely going to the other place, Arakawa couldn't help but picture that creepy man with sunglasses as if he were were flying up to heaven wearing a tacky halo. "You can go home now boy, I have nothing left to reveal to you," Arakawa said though most of her body was barely contained inside that labcoat, again missing the the irony in her statement.

"Wait, but I still don't have any idea where Nyu is!" Kouta tried reasoning with the multi-polar scientist.

"You don't seem to realise kid, but we're mostly mutual enemies; I have my own plans for this world to you know." Arakawa paced towards the window gazing out towards the light snowfall. "But if you'd like some advice, I'd suggest you give up on Lucy or 'Nyu' or whatever you call that girl...She's clearly too much for someone like you to handle.

"There are more people like that man who are after that girl, and if you knew where she was hiding, you and those people you were with that time would all become their target. I can't guarantee they would offer a human any mercy either, so unless you want to warrant that upon your friends I'd give up this foolish life you are trying to create with that girl.

Kouta might have almost been convinced at that point, if he hadn't been hit by that man last night. Instead Kouta clenched his fists and uttered one word. "Never..."

"Huh?" Arakawa turned back, almost feeling insulted that her advice went waning.

But Kouta was more determined than ever. "The moment I was hit by that guy, unable to do anything in my cowardice, the moment I saw Yuka cry over Nyu...I finally decided, that I'll never take my helplessness for granted again. And that I'd never give up on that girl, even if what you say is true."

Arakawa was quite surprised by the boys assertiveness and was able to offer nothing but a gobsmacked expression for half a minute before she averted her gaze back to the window. "Very well. I cannot stop someone who has their own path set. Just make sure you don't let those you care about out of sight. Now go home already."

"Well...thanks for your time." As Kouta stood up and departed from the room, Arakawa returned to the window finally with a default expression of indifference.

_That foolish kid...What does he think he can accomplish by holding a monster?_

PRRT. Again the tiny squeak echoed through the room, and this time the grungy science aide fought to keep the repugnant bouquet from entering her nose.

"Good gravy! What the hell have I being eating?"

…

Kouta left the University gates, disappointed that he had not gained any leads to Nyu's whereabouts. _I've wasted too much time here. Nyu could be anywhere by now._

And just as he turned the corner into another street, another person entered the academy's gates, searching for someone. She continued clutching her stomach wound as she entered the University corridors.

_I always come here with Kouta and Yuka, maybe they're here._

She walked past a few more empty rooms until she passed a room with some movement inside. She peered in through the crack in the door to see a mysterious woman with nothing but a lab coat on dancing on top of her desk.

"WHOOHOO! THAT SONOFABITCH IS DEAD! I'M FREE NOW! FREE HAHAHAHA!"

When the crazy woman jumped in a 180 degree spin (shaking her booty quite freely) Nyu recognised her face as the woman who tried to capture her the other day.

~"_Horned-people are born killers – and will instinctively kill all those who cross their path."~_

Nyu retreated from the University with fresh tears streaming down her cheeks. _Why can't I live with humans? Am I really some kind of manslayer?..._

…

LATER THAT EVENING:

"_Ahh...Kouta you're back!"_

"_Did any of the others come back?"_

"_No not yet...did the Assistant tell you anything?"_

"_No she was no use in the end."_

Outside the entrance of the Maple Inn, a lone figure hid behind a wall, listening to their conversation. "So it's here."

The lone figure made their way towards the entrance. "Stupid kid, he just went home carelessly. Well although I wished civilians wouldn't get caught in Lucy's mess, whilst my obligation to that old geezer stands..." She sighed as she started turning away from the Inn only to descend back into the snowy darkness.

…

It had now been three days since Mayu and Nana remained away from the Maple Inn. When Nana woke up to see more white, she shouted with amazement. "WAAGGGHH, The snow is coming down!" Nana overreacted towards the morning snowfall. "It's common sense, it must be cold! Brrr!"

RRRrrr...Nana felt her stomach growling like a mini velociraptor. "Agh! No, Nana cannot possibly be hungry! The grass and leaves should have been sufficient for my metabolism..."

Mayu laughed at Nana's helplessness, "Umm...Nana-chan, let's go home now." Mayu walked over to her Diclonii friend. "I think Yuka and Kouta would be very worried by now, it would be unfair of us to keep them waiting any longer."

Nana frowned as she lowered her gaze, "But I told you, we can't while Nyu's still around."

Mayu frowned as she tried convincing Nana about Nyu's own predicament, "Nyu-san may be a murderer, but what if Nyu doesn't remember anything about the other night? What if the other Nyu we knew is somewhere right now, in an unknown place and thinks she has killed someone?"

"What do you mean Mayu-chan?" Nana leaned forward in interest of Mayu's own take on Nyu.

"The Nyu-san who fought Bandou was definitely not the same Nyu-san we know. What if she has been killing all these people without the other Nyu-san knowing?"

As the two continued their discussion the said girl had already stumbled upon the two of them in the rotunda. _There they are._

"I agree that Nyu does have two personalities, but I can no longer leave Papa and that man on the beach unavenged." Nana rose from seat, curling her fists with passion, "She has deprived enough people of their lives already, I must kill Nyu the next time I see her."

Nyu suddenly recoiled from their shelter with those heartbreaking words. _Nana...wants to kill me? But what have I done to deserve such treatment? _As Nyu began generating tears she could hear more of Mayu's more rational words.

"I think the one who is truly in pain is Nyu-san herself. If she truly knew of the terrible crimes she had committed, then she would be more shocked than anyone." Mayu cupped her hands as she tried to warm herself from the incoming snowy breeze. "I think we should try talking to Nyu-san first, and see if there's another way of solving this..." Mayu started showing some tears in the corner of her eyes. "And if Nana were to kill Nyu-san, then Nana would become a murderer too, I don't want Nana-chan killing people."

Nyu suddenly took a step forward, which triggered Nana into action. "Lucy!"

"Nana don't-!" Mayu tried to stop her but Nana was already on a path of vengeance as she pushed Nyu into a tree and started strangling her with her vector hands.

"THIS IS FOR BANDOU-SAN!" Nana declared as she continued squeezing the life out of the unawares Diclonius.

"*Ack* I...I...Am...So...Sor-ry- *urk!*" Nyu struggled to speak as the invisible hands tightened their grip around her throat. She began weeping and drooling uncontrollably as her body was being drained of oxygen.

"Nana-chan please let her go! We won't achieve anything by doing this." Mayu shook some sense back into the petite, pink-haired berserker as she grit her teeth before letting go of Nyu's neck.

"Y-you knew I would kill you! Yet you still came all the way here to have me do it? Why is it always like this?" She lifted her gaze towards the heavens to seek some more answers. "What should I do now Papa? I could have ended it now, but I still cannot avenge you...It's just so...So"

Mayu and Nyu both sighed with empathy as the poor girl screamed towards the unforgiving gods.** "AAAUUUGGGHH!"**

…

As the sun started setting early, Yuka, Kouta and Nozomi waited by the table as if they were expecting the others to return soon. "It's two days before Christmas and we still haven't heard anything from those three." Yuka expressed her worrying thought that this may be a lonelier Christmas than anticipated.

Kouta locked his hands together by the table, unsure of where to go from here. What if Nyu had already done something to Nana and Mayu? What if they had all been taken away somewhere?

"*WAN* *WAN*!" The yapping noise of a familiar animal came from outside. Kouta rushed out the front door to discover Mayu's pet.

"Wanta! Maybe you can help me find them!"

…

"Did I really...kill all those people?" Nyu asked with great concern.

Nana looked away from her as she answered from within her heart. "No, you didn't." _Of course Nyu didn't kill those people...It was Lucy..._

"Really? Thank goodness.~" The sparkle returned in Nyu's eyes.

The sound of Wanta's barking startled everyone. But the trio were more ecstatic to discover someone was with Wanta. He was holding his knees to catch his breath but he spoke more clearly than ever when he found the three of them unharmed. "Thank God you're all okay. I thought I'd never see you guys again..." He gestured his hand, "Come on...Let's return home..."

…

"UUUOOOOHHH!" Nana beamed with great pleasure as she tucked into some Sukiyaki. "~Sugoi deshou? Mnnnn!" She continued devouring the food with a large smile across her face.

"Um, Nana-chan, you realise that meat's still raw?" Mayu tried getting through to the girl.

"I'm so glad to see you're all okay, we were so worried since it had been three days..." Yuka expressed her worries in her usual mother role. "But I guess the Christmas celebrations can come early now."

"Whoohoo! I'm so hyped!" Nana put down her chopsticks and lifted a glass. "Kouta! More saké!"

"When did I let you start drinking?" Kouta stammered. "Well, it seems your spirits are back up to normal." Kouta noticed Nyu was also happy and eating well. "You look like you've been through a lot these last few days Nyu," he commented as she consumed some more Sukiyaki. Kouta noticed that one person was not acting like her usual self though. "Nozomi-chan, what's the matter? You're not going to eat anything?"

Yuka would take care of the explanation, "Oh, you see Nozomi-chan's exam results should be coming in today." Yuka continued speaking between mouthfuls of food, "Since her father's against her going to music college, she's having it posted here."

The whirring sound of a scooter motor stimulated Yuka's motherly senses. "I wonder if that's them now?" Yuka darted off with nothing but a long-shirt and panties on (though she didn't seem to be bothered by that). Nozomi started fidgeting as she contemplated her results when Yuka returned with a sorrowful expression. "Uhh, Nozomi-chan the truth is...It was just the tofu delivery bike." She smiled lightly as Nozomi and Nyu both sunk their heads into the table.

Kouta was just happy enough to see everyone back in their rightful place where they truly belonged. He enjoyed this meal with everyone, as if it was their last.

…

"Oh Nozomi, you don't have to clean up!" Kouta came into the kitchen noticing Nozomi doing all the dishes.

"It's the least I can do, in return for everyone's generous hospitality," Nozomi explained as she continued scrubbing into some more dirty plates. "Oh, how I wish I could get into college..." the tense girl sighed as Kouta started noticing her legs wobbling.

"Uhh..Nozomi-chan are you alri-" Kouta suddenly found himself catching the high-school student in his arms.

"Oh Kouta, I'm so worried that I won't pass. Because of my father, I've been teaching myself but have never taken a proper singing lesson. I don't think I could possibly beat all those other performers."

Kouta stroked her hair as he tried to raise her morale. "Don't ever doubt yourself so easily, I believe you've always been very passionate about your singing talent, and that should be enough to get you through in the end."

"Really Kouta?" Nozomi started showing a tiny smile.

"I know it...In fact, there's something I'd really like you to do for me and the others..." Kouta whispered something in her ear which made her jitter suddenly.

"You want me to do that?" Nozomi's face started blushing.

Kouta nodded again, "I think that would make for a perfect end to this night if you could."

Nozomi shuffled on her legs as she thought about Kouta's request but her leg movements indicated something else was going on instead when in the end she prodded her index fingers together and muttered. _"I think I've wet myself again."_

"Oh sorry! Hold on I'll come back in a minute!" As Kouta darted off to the laundry sink Nozomi pulled out her 'secret panties' and hid a sly smile behind the adult diaper.

_"I finally did it, I didn't wet myself but I made him think I did!"_ Nozomi couldn't stop giggling until she had another conflicting thought. "No, no, no, what am I thinking? Yuka likes Kouta so I..."

"Kouta, it's here! I have Nozomi's results!" Yuka rushed back into the house with a large envelope.

As the others gathered in the living room Kouta held the results in his hand when he faced Nozomi. "Nozomi-chan...Before we find out your results, would you like to..."

Nozomi looked at everyone's bright eyes of hope as she nodded. "How could I say no...Of course I will sing for all of you."

"Oh my! Nozomi-chan is gonna sing?" Nana jumped off her feet in excitement with the saké's help.

"I've never heard one of Nozomi-chan's songs before,~" Nyu mentioned as she took a front row seat for the young girl's performance.

Nozomi silently cleared her throat as she faced her audience. "This song is a favourite of mine: it's called Elfen Lied by Wolf." Nozomi placed a hand by her chest as she began her harmony.

_~"Bei Nacht im Dorf, der W__ä__cther rief: Elfe!"~_

_~"Ein ganz kleines Elfchen im Walde schlief...wohl um die Elfe! "~_

_~"Und meint, es rief ihm aus dem Tal...bei seinem Namen die Nachtigall," ~_

_~"oder Silpelit hätt' ihm gerufen."~_

Kouta was already sold by her performance as she continued the song_. Wow...How could this poor girl ever doubt herself, she has such a gifted voice! Nobody, not even an exam result, can take that gift away from her._

As she reached the end of the song, Nozomi lifted her head so she could reach for the higher notes.

_~"und treiben's in dem Saale.__ Da guck' ich wohl ein wenig 'nein!"~_

~"_Pfui, stößt den Kopf an harten Stein! Elfe, gelt, du hast genug?_"~

_~"Gukuk!"~_

Everyone stood on their feet as they gave Nozomi a standing ovation. "You're voice is beautiful," Kouta mentioned. "Now I know you will pass." Kouta began peeling off the envelope of the exam results. "But lets find out anyway..." Kouta held Nozomi's fate in his hands at that point as the girl held her nerves. "Okay here it is..."

**SMASH****!** A violent scene suddenly burst into the room as a dozen masked soldiers stormed the house. Yuka and Mayu were knocked to the ground as the soldiers charged in on the innocent residents of the Maple Inn. It took a moment for Kouta to realise his home, his livelihood, his family were under attack.

Several pairs of legs stepped forward from the horde of faceless men with guns pointing at the frightened and confused residents. "Ahh, what a nice little place you've been living in." One man with a blonde ponytail crunched his shoes over the broken shards of glass. Three girls with black tights and steel helmets clung onto his body as he stepped forward, with a casual smile and a chocolate stick near his mouth. "Excuse me ladies and gentleman, but could you hand over Lucy now?"

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><p><strong>Elfen Lied: The Second Verse - <strong>Episode 7 Preview

_"I may not have what it takes to kill a man, but I'm ready to blow the chin of your face!"_

_"These girl's cannot possibly disobey my orders."_

_"KOUTA!"_

_**"GGGGRRRAAAGGHHH!"**_

_"We have secured Lucy..."_

Our peaceful little world can no longer last. The burdens of our past which we had once tried to leave behind have now caught up to us. Now all that is left is destruction. You will not miss the next episode of _Elfen Lied - The second Verse_, I just know it!


	7. Episode 7: Mord

**I hope my author's rants aren't scaring away all the reviewers - if so, just skip the block of bold text until you reach the story...**

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><p><strong>Well, the Second Season <strong>**Elfen Lied ****was undergoing its mid season break to focus on other projects, but now we've resumed** **broadcasting for the second half of the 'anime'.** **I must give extra special credit to The Layman for contributing a scene to this chapter (I think you should all be able to tell which one it is - but if you need a hint it involves a certain science lady). I hope you readers will appreciate the extra scene as much as I did!**

**Now for this week's playlist, I felt there was only two songs required for this episode, but I think the first one should get you pretty close to the end, enjoy!  
><strong>

Track 7 - Playlist

Berserk OST - Murder

And the second song - which I hope captures the mood in the bonus scene:

School Days OST - Distance

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><p><strong>Track 7: Mord (殺人): Murder<br>**

_~Are you girls really the enemy of mankind? Is it really impossible to co-exist...? _

_If you really can't co-exist with humans...Guess I would be the first victim.~_

…

ONE DAY AGO:

Kakuzawa had called Doctor Nousou into his main office with a rather placid look on his crusted and aging mug. "Nousou, are you prepared for hunting Lucy?"

Nousou grinned with a muddled expression as he answered the Director. "Of course, everything has been prepared for quite some time. Thanks to you, however, I will only be able to dispatch three of the clones now."

"You seem to have misunderstood my question." Kakuzawa cast a deadly eye towards his subordinate, "What I'm asking you is, are you ready to rumble?"

Nousou scratched the tips of fingernails together as if boasting some sort of undeserved confidence. "Well my three precious clones will be able to take care of Lucy anyth- WHAA?" _Was he just trying to make a joke? He couldn't possibly mean that-_

"You will be accompanying those clones of yours on this mission." Kakuzawa turned on his heels so he could face the nervous blonde, "We cannot guarantee that they will follow your orders unless you are directly conveying them in battle."

"B-But Director Kakuzawa, this is outrageous! I'm a scientist, not a soldier!" Nousou waved out his hand in protest.

"Don't fret too much," the seemingly heartless old man offered some reassurances, "I have hired a special Agent as an escort on your mission."

"A 'special agent'?" Nousou inquired. "So I assume they would be human?"

"Obviously."

"What use will a _human _be in trying to capture Lucy?" Nousou demanded. "If that's the case, I'd rather rely on a dog or something equivalent."

Throughout his little rant, Nousou could feel the hard steel barrel of a loaded handgun pressing against the back of his head. Judging from this presence alone, Nousou could tell he was dealing with something quite fearsome. "And how long have you been here?" he asked with a much more passive tone.

"He came here before you," Kakuzawa answered with a grained look across his face.

"I was hoping when the Director hired me I'd be more useful than a dog, but..." The mysterious Agent spun the gun around his finger. "Care to try me out little man?"

The sweat could be seen trickling down the Doctor's brow as he hid his nerves under a laugh. "No matter...You see, once a dog points a gun at his master he counts as the lowest of the dogs."

"A dog will always bare his fangs at an owner who has no value as a master – no matter how treasured he may appear." The Agent was quick to provide a crafty comeback to Nousou's remark.

"Enough with the incongruous metaphors!" the director silenced the two new rivals, "Our female informant has already disclosed the location of the Diclonius' whereabouts. Now get going!"

"But Director-"

Nousou was taken down a peg by Kakuzawa's words. "You will prove your department's worth by retrieving Lucy. Failure will lead to immediate termination of your cloning project." Kakuzawa showed his wish to end the conversation by pacing towards the back window of his office. "Don't worry, I trust his arms."

Nousou paused before he let out a deep sigh of defeat. "Alright..." As the special Agent made his way towards the door the doctor called out to him. "By the way my boy, you've got a pretty cute voice."

…

The terrified Maple Inn residents huddled behind their dinner table, the small piece of furniture symbolising a futile barrier between themselves and the array of gun barrels.

Kouta had to take the initiative and fight for his home. "H-How d-dare you do this..." He tried to maintain some assertiveness but the blonde invader could see his nerves were clearly showing.

"Hmph...Trying to be the hero now I see?" The Doctor took out another pocky stick and snapped the chocolate with his teeth. "You not only try and house a monster, but have the gall to defend her as well?"

"Kouta, what do these people want with us?" Yuka spoke out as she held Mayu and Nozomi in her arms. "Just please go away!" She hopelessly pleaded to the soldiers.

"I'm sorry but I'm afraid we cannot leave until we take our stock with us," Nousou declared as he took another step forward.

"Hey, are you crazy?" The blonde Agent next to him called the Doctor back. "Have you already forgotten about her two metre range?" He snapped as he held out his gun, aiming at the pink-haired demoness.

Nousou lifted his hands and sighed, "My bad, my bad."

"We didn't come here for fun and games," the mysterious Agent declared as he kept his pose steady and gun locked on Nyu. "Now you're coming back Lucy.

"Nyu doesn't have to go anywhere!" Kouta grabbed the Agent's collar.

Though the stoic figure's reaction didn't show it, he was the least impressed with this young man's heroics. "What did I just say?" He uttered before swiping across Kouta's face with his handgun.

"KOUTA!" Yuka jumped across the table and started shaking Kouta.

"Don't try and be the hero again or I will actually shoot you next time." The Agent wiped the blood off his gun.

"Kouta!" Nyu was about to jump over and aid Kouta when.

THUMP. Nyu felt her body being lifted by an invisible force as she was pinned up against the wall. Suddenly the invisible waves pushed against her thought as she struggled to breathe.

"NYU!"

"That's it girls, don't forget we have to capture her alive though." Nousou's grin widened as the three masked girls unleashed their vectors on Nyu.

"Please...Stop...Can't...Breathe..." Nyu struggled to lift her arm towards her neck as the tears rolled down her face.

**"That's enough!"** Suddenly one of the girls was thrown back by a jet of air. However the force was in fact coming from Nana's vectors as the pink-haired girl stood her ground, generating a small whirlwind around her body.

"Nana!" Mayu cried as Nozomi continued holding her.

**"It's my fault these people come here...I will protect you all."** Nana vowed as her face was hidden under her darkened expression.

Nousou chuckled with even more arrogance as he discovered Nana's awakening. "Number 7, the one who won't harm humans...Barbara, Alicia, teach her a lesson please." On his command the masked children launched their invisible hands onto Nana, punching their vectors across her body and sending her flying against the wall.

Nana coughed up blood as she hit the wall but quickly recovered, lifting herself back to her feet. **"Ha, it doesn't hurt at all-"** Nana froze when she felt several small popping noises in her shoulders.** "GGGUUUAAAAAAGGHHH!"**

"Nice work cutting her nerves Barbara and Alicia." As Nana writhed on the floor in tremendous pain Nousou grabbed a tuft of her hair and lifted her off the ground – Nana's artificial limbs slipping away from her body in the process.

"KYAAAAHH!" Mayu and Nozomi held each other tightly as they watched Nana's battered and limbless body being held up by the mysterious blonde like a trophy.

"We could really do with some more spinal cords," Nousou regarded, "Arrest the humans as well."

"NO!" Mayu squealed with terror as two of the solders pulled her away from Nozomi.

"Mayu!" Yuka rushed over but was knocked down by the butt of a rifle connecting with the back of her head.

"Yuka!" Nozomi was held back as another solider restrained her by the throat.

"No..." Yuka cried out weakly, "Nozomi-chan's throat..."

With Nyu still held back by Barbara and Alicia's vectors, Nana incapacitated, Kouta and Yuka knocked to the ground and Mayu and Nozomi restrained by the soldiers, there was only one member of the Inn that could still fight.

"WANTA!" Kouta called the little canine over as he bit onto a soldier's arm. Now free, Kouta quickly jumped to his feet and snatched the man's handgun.

"All of you leave now or I'll shoot him!" Kouta had Nousou on the ground as he held the gun to the man's temple.

Nousou maintained his arrogance as he said to the man of Maple Inn. "You won't shoot me, you don't have what it takes to kill..."

Kouta nodded slightly as he agreed with the man. "That may be but..." He clicked the gun as he moved it to the side of his cheek. "I can still blow your lower jaw off."

BANG!

A shot was fired...But came not from Kouta but in fact the Agent's handgun.

Kouta looked down at his black shirt, now darkened even further by the crimson elixir of his own blood.

The shot had entered through his back and exited out of his chest. Kouta had little time to admire his wounds before he slumped off of Nousou, his blood pooling around his body and seeping through the floorboards.

Nyu was completely and utterly horrified when she saw Kouta's body hit the ground. As the rings gathered under his eyes and the blood leaked out of his chest like a spilled glass of red wine, the pink-haired angel's wings were now well and truly stained in black.

**_**They...they killed Kouta! They killed the one purpose I had in life! They killed my very existence! Now they'll pay...THEY'LL ALL PAY!**_**

**"_**GGGGGRRRRAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"**_**

****SPLOOSH!****

**...**

**"**_KOUTA!"_

**"**_KOUTA!"_

**"**_KOUTA!"_

_Why is everything so quiet? What is happening? Am I dying for real? I guess death doesn't feel so bad afterall...It wasn't as painful as I thought..._

As the curtains of Kouta's vision came to a close, he could see the blood of the soldiers and two of the clones painting the room. When he saw the huge regrown horns and dark glare in Nyu's eyes – he knew somewhere inside of himself, that he had ultimately failed everyone.

_So I can no longer stop Nyu from killing...I cannot protect anyone anymore..._

The last colour Kouta would see was red before his world became completely enshrouded in darkness...

**…**

**"**_Look, Kouta look at these seashells I collected for you..."_

**"**_Heh, those ones are too small..."_

**"**_Mou, Kouta your such an idiot!"_

_'''  
><em>

**"**_Is you're cousin a boy or a girl?"_

**"**_Um...My cousin...he's a boy."_

_'''  
><em>

**"**_Promise you'll come back here and visit me next year..."_

**"**_Okay Yuka, it's a promise."_

_'''  
><em>

**"**_I hate you! Don't ever speak to me again!"_

**"**_Kouta? Kouta please don't hate Kanae, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, just please don't-"_

_'''  
><em>

**"**_AAAAGGGHHH!"_

**"**_That other girl will be next."_

**"**_NOOOOO! STOP IT! STOP IT! STOP IT! STOP IT! STOP IT! STOP IT! UUUWWAAAAAGGGHHHH!"_

_'''  
><em>

**"**_I have just one thing I want you to promise me..."_

_"Okay Kouta...I promise..."_

…

"Ugh..." Kouta wasn't sure if he had reached heaven yet, but judging by the couple of gorgeous guardian angels hovering over his shoulder, he may as well have been.

"Kouta! Oh thank goodness you're alive!" one of the angels, who looked an awful lot like Yuka, sobbed over his chest.

When the pain and weakness returned, Kouta knew he had not quite reached paradise just yet. "Ugh...Where's Nyu?"

"She went after those people outside." Yuka looked at the horde of limbs and organs which were scattered across the room. "Kouta, how could all this have happened to us? It's like we're living in a nightmare..."

Kouta sighed weakly as he wrapped an arm around Yuka. "I'm sorry, I should've known this was gonna happen...I can't even stop Nyu at this rate..."

"Kouta?" Yuka ceased her sobbing as she gazed upon Kouta's clouded eyes.

"It's too late now..." Kouta wheezed as his breath fell short. "Please...forgive...me"

And this time, Kouta felt like he really had left the nightmare that had been his world – his life.

**…**

MEANWHILE - OUTSIDE THE MAPLE INN:

"_AAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!"_

"FUCK! GET THE CHOPPER DOWN HERE NOW!" Nousou spat onto his radio as more of the soldiers bodies were being ripped apart by Lucy. He was knocked to the ground by a couple of rogue limbs that had been amputated by the Queen herself.

_Shit! Her range has increased from two metres! Why did we not calculate for her increased range?_

BOOM. The chopper exploded in a golden display of fire and warping metal as the frame descended over the head of the scientist.

_Oh god_...He scrunched his eyes closed, waiting for the inevitable pain that would befall him...

But nothing happened, which caused him a good amount of shock and surprise; shouldn't he be dying in agony by now? He cracked his eye open again, checking if he possibly had died instantly and was already on his way to whatever waited for him after death.

"Barbara!" Nousou noticed one of his last remaining clones was holding up the front of the chopper using the full strength of her body and vectors. Now that her helmet had been sliced off, he felt regret when he could see the desperation and sadness in her eyes.

_She's trying to save me? Why would she save someone like me?_

Past Barbara, he could see Lucy was walking over quite mockingly. She held a small rock in her hand and fired the projectile at Barbara's right leg, the limb exploding apart at the knee.

"BARBARA! I WANT YOU TO FORGET ABOUT ME AND KILL LUCY...THAT IS AN ORDER!" But Barbara continued holding up the chopper even after Lucy threw a garden ornament that smashed away her left forearm."BARBARA! I'M ORDERING YOU TO KILL LUCY! WHY ARE YOU IGNORING MY ORDER?"

**"****What a sad bunch of playthings you've created...****" **Lucy regarded as she was now right behind Barbara.** "****You made them all look like that little brat, but they were fucking weak!****"**

_Dammit! At this rate, Barbara is going to be killed too... _Nousou noticed the head less body of Cynthia, her lonely head still shedding tears even in death. He also saw the lower half of Alicia near the foot of the house, her left foot still twitching. _Why did I create these clones, was I really that selfish?..._

…

FOUR DAYS AGO:

"These are our side's Diclonii." Nousou pulled away one of the helmets to reveal one of his successful creations. "These four are clones of the strongest Diclonius." Nousou claimed, referring to the Silpelit number 37: Mariko.

"Diana, could you please part your hair for a moment?" Nousou gave the clone of Mariko an order which she obediently followed. When Diana parted her hair, she revealed a circular, metallic object which was embedded in her brain. "These little trinkets were put in place of their frontal lobes so they are rendered completely obedient to my orders – no matter how absurd they may be."

Nousou spread out his arms and called over to the other three girls. "Well now you girls, come to me."

"~MYU" Suddenly the four girls mobbed the eccentric scientist, nearly knocking him to the ground as they wrapped their arms around his body.

"Hey now, settle down!" Nousou struggled as he tried to maintain his professionalism in front of the Director. "I admit, the partial lobe removal has had some consequences on their oral and cognitive development but..." Nousou's packet of pocky sticks fell out of his pocket which suddenly attracted the four clones. "Hey don't eat those without my permission!"

The dark crescents which occupied Kakuzawa's eyes hinted that he was very unimpressed. "Are these girls really as obedient as you claim?"

"Of course they are!" Nousou tried to defend his creations as if they were his own daughters.

"I don't believe it," Kakuzawa bluntly regarded as the girls continued nibbling the confectionery. "Prove it then, prove that they'll obey any order."

Nousou sighed as he realised what he'd have to do. "I really didn't want to harm these girls but I guess I have no choice now." Nousou drew out a small hunting knife and held the blade out for the unmasked clone.** "****Diana, stab your arm with this now, that's an order.****"**

Suddenly the candy slipped out of Diana's mouth as she stood up and grabbed the knife off her master. Her face became that of a zombie, a zombie being controlled of her will by the necromancer that was Nousou.

She hesitated at first when the cold blade touched her bare flesh, but quickly enough she drive the blade deep into her upper arm, her cold expression hardly budging as her blood splashed across her innocent young face.

As she continued twisting and digging into the bone of her arm with the blade, Nousou finally stopped her. "That's enough Diana!"

When she pulled out the large blade she cocked her head to one side, tears started trickling from those dead eyes before she finally began bawling

"MYU!" Diana cried out as the other girls started cooing softly and brushing her soft light pink hair to comfort her.

"*Sigh* I'm sorry, Diana, I'll get you some more sweets to make up for it." Nousou then turned back to the Director, "Satisfied? So you now see that they'll now obey every ord-"

"It's a useless farce," Kakuzawa interjected.

"What do you mean?" Nousou now seemed quite insulted.

"If they are truly worth the massive funding and Silpelit cost, then show me that they're willing to throw away even their own lives."

Nousou's jaw dropped before he conceded to his superior's request. "Very well...Diana." He called back over the same girl who'd stabbed her own arm.** "****Pierce you heart with this knife...That's an order.****"**

The clone Diclonius grabbed the knife and held the tip of the blade by her left breast. Fresh tears came from her eyes as the blade started scratching into her breast.

"What are you waiting for that's an order!" Nousou shouted over as she began trembling. But after a few more tense seconds she finally executed the ultimate order – the knife jutting straight out of her back as she heaved forward. The blood instantly burst out of her chest like a damaged fire hydrant . The final remnants of life left her eyes as she hit the ground with a wet thud.

The three clones stood silently by one side of Diana's body whilst Nousou and Kakuzawa remained by the other side. "Good enough?"

"I guess so," Kakuzawa casually remarked. "Lucy will be forced to understand where she belongs in no time, so be prepared for her to appear anytime," Kakuzawa mentioned as he began to depart the small dungeon.

As the greying villain left the room Nousou knelt down so he could see Diana's face. She was still panting faintly as her life was being drained away. "You've done well Diana, there's plenty more replacement hearts at my disposal."

…

"Fuck..." Nousou continued cursing his plight at the hands of the psychopathic Diclonius. "If my legs weren't pinned down I could get away." Nousou noticed Barbara was barely holding up the front of the chopper with her back. "BABRARA WHY WON'T YOU LET GO?"

**"****You've stolen my life, you've stolen the one thing that kept me from killing you all.****"** Lucy swore her vengeance for Kouta - who was lying just several metres back inside the Maple Inn, his idle body being rocked by his cousin.** "****If you want her to let go of the chopper so badly then I shall grant you that wish!****" **As she was about to use the invisible guillotine on Barbara, the clone Diclonius pushed the chopper off her back as she let go of the giant metal frame.

"THAT'S IT BARBARA NOW QUICKLY KILL LUCY!" Nousou shouted with desperation. But it seemed she would defy his orders to the very end as instead of charging towards Lucy, she leapt under the falling chopper, extending her arm out towards the cruel scientist.

Nousou had shed a tear for the clone he had created as she whimpered, "Umyuu," one last time before the chopper crushed the two of them.

Lucy stared at the burning metal. _Kouta, I swear I will avenge you, I'm sorry but I'm going to have to break that promise..._

SNAP. Before Lucy could make her next move she felt one of her enlarged horns break off.

**"****UWAAAGGGGHHH!****"**

The Agent cautiously watched Lucy's throes as he hid behind a wall with the upper body of Alicia in his arms._It seems no matter how much pain or injury these clones receive, they can still use their vectors..._

**"****GAGH! AGH!****" **Lucy struggled on her four limbs as she tried to get back to her feet.

"I'm surprised you're still moving." The Agent calmly walked out in front of Lucy, holding the handgun with his free arm. "I suppose you cannot use your vectors anymore."

**"****GUAAAGGHH!****" **Lucy continued growling like an enraged beast as she lowered her head, struggling to get off her knees.

"Well I suppose if I broke that other horn of yours would that shut you up?" The Agent aimed his gun and fired one more shot, the sound ringing through the otherwise placid forests of Kamakura.

"Finally some peace and quiet," The Agent casually regarded as he stood over Lucy's comatose body. Studying Lucy's blank white eyes and blood drooling out of her loosely opened mouth, he produced the radio to deliver the message Kakuzawa's research facility was waiting to hear for more than nine enduring months._#You hear me? Ah it's me...We have secured Lucy...I will let you recover her...#_

**_'''''_**

_**'''''**  
><em>

"Oh _yyeeeess_!"Arakawa moaned, "Oh _GAWD _this is so _good!" _The...'episode'...that occurred after the boy who lived with Lucy left had been the metaphorical straw that broke the camel's already huge back, so before she headed back to the research facility she went straight to the girl's locker room and took the best shower of her entire life! "This is_ sooooo _better than sex!" she exclaimed, letting the steaming waterfall wash away the grime that had been caked on for who knows how long.

After she towelled off and redressed she headed down to Kakuzawa-sensei's lab. Not because she had any fond memories of him, (truth be told they rarely interacted with each other outside of that lab), but because there might still be something in that lab that she could use to her own ends. She remembered him saying that he kept all his really important work well hidden, though he never actually said where.

"I guess he didn't plan on dying so soon..." she mumbled as played through the memory, trying to remember anything that might give her a clue to the hiding place's location.

The lab was practically spotless; most of Kakuzawa's things had either been moved to the facility already or had been properly disposed of.

Two hours later yielded nothing but empty hands and a slightly aching back.

"Dammit, where could it be?" she wondered, starting to get frustrated at her fruitless search. "Why couldn't he have made it easier to find?" she cried, letting her frustration get to her as she kicked the nearest wall.

This had caused a small portion of said wall to swing open, revealing a small personal safe filled with papers.

"No way it could be that easy..." she marvelled as she rifled through the papers.

A moment later she found what she was looking for.

"This is just what I need," she said, smiling devilishly. "You'd better watch your back Mr. Director, or else the god of the new world will be _me_..."

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><p><strong>Elfen Lied The Second Verse - <strong>Episode 8 Preview

_"I'll give you 36 hours...It is my only deadline."  
><em>

_"We can't afford to have that kind of person in our house!"_

_"It has to be here...The traitor that lives with humans!"  
><em>

_"**Hello again Lucy...I hope you'll play a bit gentler this time! G-HEE-HEE-HEE"**_

_"This place...Where am I? Please just let me go back home..."_

Hope and despair...Light and darkness...Revival and destsruction. The horned angels weave between these forces, sewing our fates with the invisible threads of death. What is Kouta's prognosis? And where has Nyu been taken to? Find out in the next dramatic installment of _Elfen Lied: The Second Verse_!


	8. Episode 8: Konvergierenden

**A few weeks ago it finally came to my door! That is of course the entire 12 Volume authentic Japanese Elfen Lied Manga collection! It's a bit tedious reading it with the aid of a Kanji Dictionary and I've only read the first chapter so far but you're not a true die-hard EL fan unless you have both the Anime and Manga in your possession.**

**Anyway that has helped spark me into getting the next chapter uploaded. And for those loyal readers, The Layman and myself have a special treat for you all at the end of this story (but I won't give it away just yet so you'll have to read till the end to find out :) ).**

**Anyway that's my rant for this week so here's the playlist and then of course what you're all here for: the Eighth Episode of ****_Elfen Lied: The Second Verse_****. Enjoy!**

Track 8 - Playlist

Franz Ferdinand – The Vaguest of Feeling

Witchblade OST - Sakuryaku

Witchblade OST – Michishimesu Jyuukou

Witchblade OST – Natsuki Biru

Saikano OST – Kanashimi no Nukumori

Disturbed – Remnants (Thanks Alex)

Berserk OST - Fear

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><p><strong>Track 8: Konvergierenden (収束): Converging<br>**

__~How dare you put us through all this misery until now...How many of my kind have you killed? How many horrible experiments have you performed?__

__You cannot ever be forgiven!~__

__...  
><em>_

THE NEXT DAY - KAMAKURA HOSPITAL:

"Mayu told me everything about last night." Mio dropped by the hospital wards to visit the Maple Inn residents after last night's 'night of hell'. "I'm so sorry such a thing had to happen to you guys."

"There's no need to apologise Mayu-chan's friend," Yuka spoke in her gentle, motherly tone as she placed some flowers in the vase by Kouta's bed. Trying hard to suppress the blood splattered carnage Yuka lay witness to last night, the young woman used the most euphemistic language possible."It was just a freak incident that occurred last night, that's all."

Mio walked over to check on Kouta. "Is Kouta-san going to be okay?"

Yuka put on a reassuring smile for the petite young visitor. "He'll be fine, the doctors say he might just stay asleep like that for a couple of days." Yuka exhaled softly as she glanced down at her resting cousin. "Where's Mayu?"

"Oh she's still with Nozomi-san," Mio said with a polite voice.

"That's good, I think she needs some company for a while." Yuka cupped her hands together, then sighed as she she tried to break the awkward atmosphere in the room. "Well, would you like me to get you something to drink?"

"Oh I'm fine," Mio said humbly, "I don't want to stay here and bother you all for too long. I'll go back and see Mayu-chan for a while." Mio was about to leave when she noticed someone camouflaged in the corner of the room. "Oh sorry, I didn't see you there. Hi Nana."

"Hey." Nana put on a nervous smile for Mayu's friend as she gave a wave. She almost looked like a pile of jackets resting on a chair as she was fairly cocooned in the dark fabric, a red cap also hid most of her face.

"Nana seems to have recovered pretty quickly," Yuka observed the quiet pink-haired girl.

"Hehe, yeah... Well, y'know, I guess I'm just special," Nana said with forced laughter as she rubbed the back of her head.

"Yuka my dear...I'm sorry I'm late," a middle-aged woman said to Yuka as she came into the room.

"No Mother it's fine, I'm glad you came that's all." Yuka finally unleashed her bottled sadness when she nearly collapsed into her own mother with a hug.

"Please excuse me, goodbye." Mio decided it wouldn't be appropriate for her to stay in the room whilst Yuka had relatives visit. As the young girl paced down the corridors she bumped into her best friend. "Mayu."

"Hello again Mio-chan.~" Mayu gave a warm smile like always.

"Hi Mayu-chan! I'm surprised Nana seemed to recover from her injuries, especially after what you told me," Mio regarded the pink-haired girl.

"Yeah, Nana's pretty amazing isn't she" Mayu sighed.

"I hope Nozomi-san is okay."

Mayu averted her gaze for a moment, "Nozomi-san doesn't seem to be talking to anyone...The Doctors said she may never be able to sing again."

"That's terrible!" Mio expressed her sympathy for the aspiring singer. "If there's any way I can help you guys out..."

"Oh Mio-chan..." Mayu smiled as if there were never any troubles to begin with. "Don't worry, we'll be fine."

"Mayu...chan..."

"Trust me," Mayu cocked her head with a glistening smile. "We've all been through a lot worse."

_…_

Just a few wards down from the Maple Inn residents a chocoholic doctor was being swarmed by his concerned workers.

"Nousou-Sensei! Thank God you're alright!"

"I'm not alright, I have a fracture in my leg!" The blonde doctor snapped into another pocky stick as he showed off his cast. "It'll take three months to recover."

"You look pretty well, don't you?" The Agent came into the doctors room pushing a pink haired girl in a wheelchair. "You're doing fine, right?"

"What! You didn't do a bloody thing you weirdo!" Nousou nearly jumped off his bed but the pain bound him back down. "I-t-t-t-t!..."

"Sensei..." The two co-workers rushed over to his bedside.

"How ungrateful..." the Agent sighed as he pushed Barbara's chair over to Nousou's bedside, "Who do you think dragged you from the burning chopper?"

Nousou sighed as if he had just been beaten by the Agent's argument yet again. "Yeah well that was your job; to protect me, wasn't it?"

"I suppose you have this one to thank as well." The Agent glanced down at the Clone of Mariko. Barbara had lost an arm and a leg in Lucy's battle but she seemed healthy enough to roam around in her chair and was even resting on the edge of Nousou's bedside waiting for another Pocky stick from the man she obediently served.

"Yeah," Nousou laid back on his pillow and sighed deeply. "She cut the steel above my head with her vectors. Even though she was clearly in pain and close to death, she chose to save me even when I ordered her to let me die." Nousou gave the clone one of the chocolate sticks as he brushed through her light-pink locks of hair. "These devices we implanted in their brains, thanks to them they've lost their violent nature and become attached to me..." Nousou stared at the metallic implant occupying her forehead. "It would be more correct to say that I was only saved by this device."

_..._

LATER THAT AFTERNOON:

"Ah...that was a nice lunch." Nana was making her way back to Kouta's ward. Just as she gripped the doorhandle, she could overhear Yuka's mother's harsh words coming from inside.

_"That killer had horns just like the girl that was in here earlier, we can't have someone like that around here anymore."_

_"But mother...Nana is a kind young girl who wouldn't hurt a soul."_

_"Regardless, she could turn just like the other girl did right?"_

Nana slowly let her hand fall back off the door handle and swing idly by her side. Too ashamed to confront the woman, Nana lowered her head and turned away from the door.

"Uhhh!" Nana hid her sobs under her the heavy sleeves of her jacket as she roamed further down the hall.

_Papa...Why can't I live with humans? I've tried so hard like you said but..._

"Oww!" Nana bumped into a couple of young girls who were walking outside another room. "Mio-chan! Mayu-chan!"

"Hehe, you're as much of an airhead as ever Nana-chan," Mayu joked as the three girls lifted themselves back off the ground. "Mio and I were about to get some flowers for Nozomi-chan and Kouta-san. If you'd like-"

"YEAH I'D LOVE TO COME!" Nana declared loud enough for the entire Hospital Wing to hear. _Don't worry Papa...I won't give up just yet..._

…

MEANWHILE – CAMP ASAKA IN SAITAMA, NAGASAKI:

The USFJ Military elites were gathering round the main conference table. The decorated officers sat around the table before two representatives from the Saseba Ecological Research Facility.

"We've received leaked documents from your partner research facility in Kamakura, detailing plans of a new biological weapon," one of the officers spoke with a thick American accent.

"Yes, we have dispatched one of our special Agents to obtain more data about Kakuzawa's plans," the Saseba spokesperson explained.

"These documents reveal a case of potential plans for bio-terrorist activity," the American officer slammed a fist against the table. "We will be forced to intervene if these hostilities occur."

"Colonel," one of the officers who sat next to the fiery Colonel intervened, "even if these documents are to be believed, if we are to intervene militarily it could breach our treaty with Japan."

"That's right Colonel," another officer from the other end of the table spoke out, "it could be perceived as an act of war."

"I understand, but this is the most serious form of bio-engineered virus we've come across. This sort of activity goes beyond mere school-yard diplomacy."

"Please Colonel." The other Saseba spokesperson spoke up. "If you could just give our facility some more time, we can handle this ourselves.

The buzz-cut commander rubbed his chin, quite uncomfortable of the idea of private company tackling its sister's affairs. "We'll only give you 36 hours."

"COLENEL!" a younger officer rose from his table in protest, "that's an absurd deadline."

"It is my only deadline," the Colonel rebutted, effectively the argument.

The two Saseba representatives whispered into each others ear, before one of them smiled and locked their hands together in a gesture of confidence. "That should be plenty of time...Our special fleet is already on its way to Kamakura."

…

LATER THAT EVENING:

On one of several large transport carriers just a few nautical miles from the Kamakura coastline, the Fleet Commanders expressed his frustration with the job he had been tasked with.

"Christ, I wish I knew what the hell those things are we're carrying. They're so heavy; it's a wonder this ship's still afloat at all." The Fleet commander pulled his hat down further to conceal his eyes, hoping he could remove himself from this calamity and return home with his fiance.

But two caped-clad individuals were behind him and ready to bring his world back to reality. "Hey, don't lose focus. Remember, mankind is at stake here."

"Thanks for reminding me..." the highly cynical Fleet Commander responded. _Those big heads from the Saseba facility said something about a lethal bio-terrorist program being developed on an Island offshore of Kamakura...Something about a new species of homo sapiens...What kind of person would leak out such bogus info anyway?_

…

KAKUZAWA FACILITY:

"Yes...Yes...Yes...Oh c'mon I'm nearly there..." The moans were escalating as the sweat poured down her tank-top. "Ohhhh...YES! I DID IT!" Arakawa threw off her glasses as she grasped the glass slides in her fingers. "With this, I'll become a Goddess!"

Arakawa threw her arms above her head and spun around on her office chair in celebration. "Whoo-hoo, I'm such a genius-Uh, no ~I'm totally awesome, yeah...Gragh...'And the Nobel Prize goes to Miss Arakawa' yeah-yeah." The self-proclaimed Goddess imitated the sound of a roaring crowd. "'Oh my! Well, I'm just so grateful for this award! Yyeah I'm going to take this baby home with my bath' and then they'll be all like 'oh you hahaha!' Something like that..." Arakawa let out a huge sigh of relief, sweating away in the tiny office she occupied in Kakuzawa's research facility. With only her underpants and a yellow tank-top on, Arakawa had set a knew standard for 'sophisticated research' and 'professionalism'.

The half-naked scientist crossed her legs on the chair and groaned to herself in a sudden mood swing. "Tch, that stupid old Gramps, why would he leave his documents lying around his office so carelessly?...I guess he underestimated a smart and intelligent woman such as _moi_." She pressed a hand to her puffed out chest with boastful pride.

…

"That, foolish woman has underestimated me." Kakuzawa was departing from his office as he made his way to the helipad outside. "She took the bait like a well trained fish."

The helicopter pilot saluted his superior as the aging man entered the chopper. "It's thanks to you, my precious Anna." As the chopper made its way off the ground, he noticed several ships dotting the horizon. "Sorry Lucy, but I won't be able to attend the great feast...Please wait for me...And we shall create a new world together..."

…

"Thank you very much." Mayu bowed to the lady at the flower shop as Mio and Nana waited for her outside.

"Those flowers look very pretty Mayu-chan." Mio observed the colourful range of orchids that Mayu had picked out for Nozomi and Kouta.

"Yeah, they're very nice." Nana agreed. As the moon rose from the coastal horizon, Nana began feeling a sense of nostalgic loss. She broke away from the two girls and went towards the ocean.

"Hey Nana-chan, where are you going? Aren't you coming with us back to the hospital?" Mayu and Mio's words were drowned out by Nana's hidden tears of anguish.

_"Number 7, the one who won't harm humans..."_

"_The very fact that you have horns makes you an enemy of mankind."_

_"That killer had horns just like the girl that was in here earlier, we can't have someone like that around here anymore."_

Nana fertilised the soil with her tears of anguish_. __I can't keep doing this anymore...I can't keep pretending that I can live with humans...Oh Papa...why did you have to go away forever._

Seeing those people invade the Maple Inn, and hearing of Lucy's slaughter was the final nail in the coffin of Nana's spirit. There was only one place where she seek her answers, the place where it all began.

She was going to return home.

...

BACK IN KAMAKURA HOSPITAL:

Nousou couldn't sleep as he brushed through a sleeping Barbara's hair. "Alicia and Cynthia sacrificed themselves for my sake. You would throw away your life to come to my aid and even defy my orders in order to save me." Nousou parted away her pink hair so he could see the Ajina device on her forehead. "This thing has taken away your free will...You would still have both your arms and legs if I had never created such a cruel thing."

Nousou reached over to the draw and picked out a large hunting knife. The metal shone against the moonlight which pierced the room. "**Don't worry Barbara, I'll free you from your suffering...**"

…

Meanwhile in another ward...

_"I'll be heading home now to prepare dinner. You should come home soon too since visiting time is nearly over."_

_"Yes Mother, I'm just going to keep an eye on Kouta for a little longer."_

_"*sigh*, That place is no longer suitable to live in. I still can't believe you were housing a murderer..."_

_"But Nyu-chan is not- I mean...She never gave any indication that she was..."_

_"It reminds me all too much of the murder of the festival murders eight years ago...I don't know if that girl is connected, but that house is a bad omen from now on."_

_"Mother..."_

…

Yuka glanced down at Kouta's peaceful body as the night consumed most of the wards._ That horrible scene on the beach...I should've have known at that point that Nyu was a killer...But when she's with us, when she's with Kouta, she seems just like any other girl... _Yuka knelt down and gave Kouta a warm kiss, she wiped away the saliva from the corner of her mouth as she sobbed. "Kouta, I want to know the truth about that girl, so please tell me...Please just wake up..."

…

The Agent stopped before the puddle of blood at the doorway of Nousou's room. His expression was quite reserved, even when confronted with the Doctor's headless corpse. When he noticed the Mariko Clone was missing, as well as a knife and the wet Ajina device on the ground he shook his head and asked the headless Doctor... "What the hell did you do?"

…

Above the heights of Kamakura, a pink-haired angel of death was hovering in front of a large billboard, looking down among the filthy humans who crawled along the landscape like tiny ants.

"It can't be wrong...She's over there!" Barbara's eyes lit up as she detected the Diclonius' presence. With a depraved smile, she lowered herself until she was near the building. Then the Clone thrust herself off the building with her legs, flying across the town with great speed. The force of her flight sent huge air currents across the city depths, smashing glass and raising cars and people. But nobody could detect that the large bullet that was travelling through the sky was in fact a girl – a girl with horns, a girl with a path of vengeance.

__It definitely can't be wrong...It's that girl from the house the other day...It's definitely her, the traitor who chose chose not to listen to the voice and chose to live with humans over us! __

__...__

SOMEWHERE IN THE DEPTHS OF THE DICLONII RESEARCH FACILITY

Nyu was awoken by the smell of rotting flesh. She felt the cold underground air brush against her naked body. Still dazed and amnesiac from the incident on Maple Inn, she could feel her hands were bound by metallic locks. She could feel her back was braced against a cold large metal frame.

The scenery was nothing like her usual comfortable environment back in the Maple Inn. It was almost like a giant temple hall, with towering pillars and weird writing donning the walls. One avenue of light came from the end of the hall as a dark-clothed figure made their way through the light.

"This place...where am I?" She spoke to the shady figure, still sounding quite dazed and confused. "Please just let me go back home."

"**Hehe...I was hoping our Queen would stay asleep for a little longer Kukuku...**' The eerily sounding figure stepped forward with crunching footsteps. Judging by the dark shades and large set of stitches ringing his entire neck, Nyu could feel less than comfortable with his presence. He produced an object from his long coat, something which resembled a crossbow, as he continued chuckling sadistically. "**Hello again Lucy...I hope you'll play a little gentler this time G-HEE-HEE-HEE!**"

* * *

><p><strong>Elfen Lied The Second Verse - <strong>Episode 9 Preview

"_**You're body seems ready to harvest our new race!"**_

"_Try anything funny and I'll splatter their little brains out!"_

"_We're the one's giving the orders here now."_

"_Could it be...Is that really you...?"_

"_You've gotta be fucking kidding me!"_

The seeds of a new age have been sowed. The Queen returns to her castle only to find it toppled by a monstrous despot. The knights of the round table have made their ultimate decision – the final seige has just begun. So will Nyu make it out of the underground grotto? And who is the mysterious/Unknown person that has interrogated her? All will be uncovered and more in the next bloody chapter!


	9. Episode 9: Hölle

_**/_/_/Warning! The following Author's Rant may contain possible major spoilers for the following Fanfic Ahead in four paragraphs!/_/_/  
><strong>_

**Okay, well maybe I might've exaggerated, but I'd feel bad if some people really didn't want to find out any clues or twists to the story. Basically from this point on, you're really going to notice some big shake-ups to the Original Manga (so if you were just reading this as a shortcut to reading the 109 ch Manga, I'd probably start reading from at least Volume 10 to see the original course of events.). This was never intended to simply be a word-for-word retelling of the Manga, I had my own plans to end this story differently from the very beggining...**

**...Okay there's still a chance to bow out if you really don't want any - even if they're just implicit in nature - spoilers. Just cross your eyes so you can't interperet any words and scroll past the bold text until you reach the chapter proper. Okay I'll also give a few line breaks so your peripheral vision won't accidently lure you into finding out.**

**I will confirm now that the ending WILL be different to the Manga. Just how different is somthing I will not disclose. I'm still tweaking with a few ideas on how the last few chapters will play out and I'm not 100% locked in on any one particular way to end this just yet:**

**But (And there's still time to cross your eyes and skip ahead!) I will reveal two things that will happen differently to the Original Manga (without giving too much detail away...):**

* * *

><p><strong>Those two things are...<strong>

**...**

**...**

**...**

**Number one...**

**...**

**...**

**...  
><strong>

**A Character from the main cast who would otherwise live to the end of the Manga...**

**...**

**Will die...**

**...**

**...**

**...**

**And number two...**

**...**

**...  
><strong>

**...**

**A character from the main cast who would otherwise die in the Manga...**

**...**

**Will live...**

**...**

**...**

**...**

* * *

><p><strong>I won't give you any names of course (and to be honest I'm still not entirely decided as to who exactly anyway) <strong>**so that means you will just have to keep reading till the end to find out ;)...**

...

...

...

PHEW!

Okay everyone else, it's safe to read now. I hope I didn't scare off too many of you with the warnings and everything. Okay now we're almost ready to go for the next chapter. Sorry about the irregular updates lately but I'm still very much in the zone with this Project at the moment.

Now here's the next batch of epic music to assisst your path into the next episode. Sit back, listen to the tunes and enjoy!

Track 9 – Playlist:

Alien Trilogy OST – BGM 04

Rammstein – Benzin (Combustion/Meshuggah Remix)

Claymore OST – Youma no Okite

Alien Trilogy OST – BGM 10

Fairy Tail OST 1 – Anger-Guren

Fairy Tail OST 1 – Erza's Theme

X-Ray Dog – Dethroned

Immediate Music – With Great Power (Choir version)

Bleach OST 3 – Anguish

* * *

><p><strong>Track 9: Hölle (地獄): Hell<strong>

_**~Straight to their downfall they slide with no one to stop it.**_

_**Just...Will it really fall to us?~**_

_…_

**"We have been waiting for your return dearest Lucy,"** the Man spoke in a booming voice. He stood several metres from the Diclonii Queen, enough distance to ensure that he was well outside of her vector range. **"If only Uncle could have stayed for this glorious moment."**

"I don't know what you're talking about..." Nyu said, still quite dazed and confused. She still wasn't sure how she ended up here and how she came to be naked, with her wrists strapped to the wall. "Please just let me go back to the Maple Inn where everyone is."

The Man seemed ignorant of Nyu's pleas as he jerked his neck to the left and right, making an eerie bone-crackling noise._ "__**Ah...The miracles of Diclonii research technology...I must say though you cutting off my head was quite a bother, I'd appreciate it if you don't pull that move on me again dearest Lucy. Kukuku!" **_

When the creepy, virtually Frankenstein-like figure finished his sadistic laughter_,_ he rolled his pupils down towards Nyu's legs. Nyu cried weakly in her embarrassment and confusion as she began to feel something trickling down her thighs. **"Ah, you're body seems ready to harvest our new race..."**

_…_

Nana felt the cold salty water lap onto her shoes. She gazed beyond the dark horizon, looking towards the edge of the very earth as if to find her papa once again.

_I'm coming Papa...Wait for Nana, just wait a little longer, and I can finally see you again..._

Nana took a few more laboured steps into the cold and murky depths of the water. She didn't seem aware of the person who was gazing curiously at her back on the dry sand.

"I found you, the traitor..." Barbara hovered a few centimetres above the sand, her vectors pushing down the sand and creating a tiny whirlpool around the base of her foot. "Her back is turned, now's my chance to end her miserable life!"

But just as she was about to pounce on Nana's position, Nana barely made a faint turn of her head as she shot her fake right arm into the gut of the oncoming Mariko Clone. The sneaky rocket punch attack winded Barbara as she was pushed back onto the beach.

"Damn you..." Barbara used her vectors to rise back to her feet, but not before she received a hard flying kick to the left side of her jaw. "AGH!" The poor Diclonius tumbled back onto the sand as her opponent made her advance.

**"You really thought I couldn't sense your presence?" **Nana spoke with a much darker tone than her usual self. **"You really thought you could beat me, didn't you?"**

"GRRR! SHUT UP!" Barbara unleashed the full force of her vectors onto Nana's position, but the quick-vectored Nana leapt off the sand and rained down her transparent fists onto her frustrated opponent.

"GUAGH! WHY? My Vectors are longer than yours!" Barbara slammed her fists against the sand as the blood started dripping out of her nose.

**"It's because your vectors are too slow,"**Nana continued talking as if another voice had taken over. She swiped the ground near Barbara kicking up piles of sand in the process, but this time Barbara jumped back to evade each low strike. Barbara continued hopping back in her one-legged low crouch like a stealthy frog when she finally saw an opening on Nana's left.

_I've got her now! _Barbara strafed across the sand so she could get within range of Nana's left side. But Nana could see her from her peripheral vision and fired her other rocket fist onto Barbara's face.

"GAAAAAGGHH!" Barbara screamed as she kept finding it difficult to close in on the Human-sympathising Diclonius. She still hadn't even laid a vector on her opponent, even though she seemed to deal with her much easier on their first encounter at the Maple Inn.

**"Thinking you could win just because you had long vectors..."**Nana procured a wicked smile as she crept up to her new prey. **"I knew your length from the very beginning. The only reason you beat me before was because you had those two others with you."**Nana continued her slow advance taking her time in reattaching her arms with a gunshot-tense click whilst the clone was still not back onto her feet. **"But now that it's just one on one, the outcome was clear from the very start..."**

Barbara's lips quivered in fear for a moment, but then Nana noticed the clone began smiling behind her battered and bloodied face. "Is that really so?"

Nana frowned, slightly angered by Barbara's smile as she moved one of her vectors towards her forehead_. _**"Recently only painful things have been happening...So I'll punish you by disabling your vectors first..."**

But just as she was about to poke her invisible fingers into Barbara's frontal lobe she was distracted by two young girls calling out her name from behind.

"Nana! What are you doing here on the beach?"

Nana's devious side had reverted back to normal once she saw that girl's petite and innocent face. "Mayu..." But her happiness was quickly discarded for the more urgent feeling of fear as she cried out to both of them. "DON'T COME ANY CLOSER! STAY BACK!"

"What's the matter Nana?" Mio queried the pink haired girl, completely oblivious to the insubstantial fingers penetrating into her forehead.

"Try anything funny and I'll splatter their little brains out," Barbara conjured up a wicked smile as she grasped her two hostages amongst the invisible threads of destruction.

"Please, I'm your target! Leave those two out of this!" Nana's plea was met with invisible fists as the petite pink-haired girl was thrown across the beach, skipping across the hard sandy ground like a pebble against the water.

"NANA!" Mayu was about to rush over when she felt a cold breeze brush past her throat, the sensation was unsettling, as if a cold blade had been placed against her very throat.

"I'd stay put if I were you little girl," the depraved Diclonius clone said with an equally cold expression.

"Gnh!" Nana struggled to lift herself off the ground as Barbara's vectors slammed against her back virtually burying her back into the sandy earth.

"HAHAHA! How pathetic! If you didn't attach such worth to these pathetic humans you could have killed me by now!"

Nana's tears soaked the sand as she began to feel the weight of the situation overbearing her. _Papa, Nana has failed...I have failed to live with humans..._

"Papa...Please forgive Nana..." Nana continued mumbling to herself as the deranged clone advanced.

"What are you waffling on about? You keep calling out to your Papa huh? At least you were lucky enough to have a Papa..." Barbara lifted the battered Nana by her neck, wringing the air out of her lungs. "I don't have any parents! I was born in a freaking test tube! Now the humans will pay for their mistakes!"

"Nana!" Mayu and Mio continued trying to reach their friend when they were blocked by a giant wall of sand.

"Shut up you brats!" Barbara turned back to her Diclonius prey. "Now, shall I kill the traitor first...Or let you watch your human friends die a horrible death before I rip your head off?"

Nana's vision was becoming faint as the strength was quickly being sapped from her body. "I'm sorry...I'm sorry...you were born...into such a cruel world..."

Barbara lifted an eyebrow as she grew frustrated with the pacifist Diclonius. "Are those your final words of grace?"

Nana struggled to utter a few more words as Barbara's invisible hands tightened around her neck. "If killing me will end your suffering...then..."

Barbara cocked her head before a playful smile drew across her lips. "HAHAHA! So now you're just going to throw away your life in some hopeless sacrifice now?"

"I just beg of you not to kill the humans..." Nana wheezed as her vision became more and more faint with each passing second.

"Oh this is just_ too_ hilarious!" Barbara continued mocking her victim as she held her arm by her waist in laughter. "Alright, if you want to die so badly all of a sudden, then I'll do as you wish..." As Barbara's vectors began to converge upon Nana's position Barbara whispered some last words to her horned counterpart, words which provided anything but comfort in her last moments.

_"I'll still kill your friends though..."_

__Papa..__.As Nana began to close her eyes and accept the invisible guillotine of atonement, she swore she could see his outline walking towards her. _Papa...Nana will be seeing you very soon..._

...Blood...

…

**"You will be the Eve of our new race..."**the Man fanned out his arms as he prophesied Nyu's destiny, **"It is written in your blood to eradicate the corrupt homo sapiens from this planet...You should feel honoured my dear Queen."**The Man held out his hat as he bowed humbly to the supposed monarch of the New Race, his wild black locks draping down his face.

"I don't know what this is all about, please just let me go," Nyu continued begging as fresh tears continued trickling down her naked body.

**"I'm afraid I can't allow you to leave us again your majesty; Uncle told me to keep an eye on you while he's away..."**The Man snickered as he crawled on his knees towards Nyu's groin. **"If only I was one of the chosen ones, but alas I can only admire your Godly form..." **The Man traced his cold gloved hands down each of Nyu's thighs slowly moving down to her knees then back up, wiping some of the menstrual blood onto his finger. He held out his finger in front of his mouth before he let out his serpent tongue and licked the blood off his finger. **"Ahh, the unspoiled elixir of a Goddess, truly spectacular indeed..."**

"Please stop this..." Nyu shook her head defiantly. "I want to go back with the others."

The Man suddenly seemed to sour in mood as he pushed a hand against his knee, rising back to his feet. **"It seems intermingling amongst the filthy masses has sullied your mind..." **The Man's footsteps crunched against the ground as he faced the Queen Diclonius, **"You should know by now that you have no place to live amongst humans!"**

"No...You're wrong..." Nyu lowered her gaze, trying hard to deny the painful memories of that night. "I found myself a home, and they're waiting for me right now." _Most of them..._

**"Really? Do you still believe those humans will accept you after witnessing your true nature?" **The Man probed his question deep into Nyu's heart. **"Do you still think their inferior society will allow a murderer of their kind to simply return to live a 'normal life'?"**

Vivid flashes of blood and limbs streamed across Nyu's memory as she recalled the faces of countless victims of her sinful past: the S.A.T solider on the beach; Kuruma's secretary; the professor at the university; the three clones who had infiltrated the Maple Inn as well as their master; Nana's limbless body as she toyed with her Diclonius victim; and finally Kouta's pale, blank-eyed expression as he was shot and killed right before her very eyes.

The memories were flooding Nyu's mind, unable to channel them deep inside her sub-conscious any longer, the otherwise more placid ego of Lucy was finally at breaking point.

"YOU'RE WRONG!" Nyu had achieved something once beyond her own personality's control as she unleashed her latent vectors, rising into the air like invisible necks of Hydra as they finally snaked down onto their prey. But Nyu's vectors were just short of reaching the Man's position as he admired her aggression with his cocky grimace. The tears stung her face as she cried out to her captor, "They took me in, even though I have horns! YOU PEOPLE TOOK THAT AWAY FROM ME!"

**"So the theories are true...You do in fact posses a second personality."** The Man chuckled as he gazed into the otherwise transparent scythes aiming to reap his throat. **"That would explain your false attachment to humans then, but I did not expect it was capable of using vectors, kuhehe...Now I can really have some fun!" **The Man held down his hat further concealing his slimy gaze as he about-turned from his Queen. **"I shall be waiting outside."**

As the Man departed, the doors slowly drew together as they closed off the light from outside. Suddenly Nyu felt the shackles around her wrists release as she collapsed forward. She quickly staggered back to her feet as she bashed her extraordinary hands against the door until they smashed their way through. Nyu wasn't even sure what was going on at this point, she felt like she was driven by a trance, these extra limbs walking her, guiding her way towards the outside.

She found the Man sitting quite casually on one of the many hundreds of rocks and gravestones scattered across the underground cave. **"So what will you do now Lucy?"**

"I'm going back to the Maple Inn..." She said with a groggy tone. "I don't care about your wanting to create a new race, I'm just going back home." Even if I can no longer see Kouta again...I must find my place with the humans...

**"Well it seems I have no other choice then..." **The Man threw off his hat and pulled down his hair, indicating that his mopped locks were in fact hiding something below. As the discarded the hairpiece, two small cranial protrusions not entirely unlike Lucy's were visible on his bald head. He lifted out his crossbow as his eyes glowed in bloodlust behind his tinted shades. **"I will make you our Eve, even if I have to paralyse your limbs KUKUKUKU!" **

But just before the Unknown Man could unleash his spiked bullets onto the Diclonii Queen a large disturbance was occurring in the lake nearby. The earth began trembling as a giant spherical object emerged from the watery depths. The horned-Man rolled his eyes as he sneered at whatever was stirring inside the underground pond. **"Don't interfere Anna, I shall take the pleasure of 'acquainting' our honourable guest."**

The giant grey mass that was Anna glared at the two figures with two giant perpendicular slits for eyes as the monster communicated in what was not so much speech but rather a telepathic message.

_**"~Anna won't allow it...Anna won't allow you to hurt father!~"**_

**"Cheh! I told you not to interfere!" **The Man became more aggressive towards the giant creature.

_**"~Anna must interfere...Anna must stop Lucy!~"**_

Nyu gazed upwards as a giant fist began descending from above. The fist swallowed Nyu's entire body in shadow as it hammered down on her position – not enough time to react or escape from its force.

In one last defiant burst, Nyu threw out all her vectors as she cried out to the giant hand. "UWAAAHH!"

_Kouta-san..._

SMASH...

_…_

Nana believed she must've already reached the next world, she could see him right in front of her. She knewthe shadow appearing before her was in fact the one she had been yearning for a long time...And now they had finally been reunited...

Papa had returned...

But most of the new world didn't quite live up to Nana's expectations. In fact it was very similar to the world she had just departed from. Mayu and Mio were still watching over her just a short distance away as the bloody corpse of a Diclonius with her head smashed open stood at her feet.

_This cannot be...I'm not in heaven...Nana is still alive?_

But who was the figure coming towards her with open arms? Nana had indeed been saved by this person. She cried out to her saviour as she realised who it must've been.

"Could it be...Is that really you?" Nana's eyes lit up as she cried out to her saviour. "Papa! You came back to save me?" Nana's eyes were filled with tears of joy as she collapsed into her saviour, wrapping her arms around his irregularly wide waist – had Papa gained weight since they last met?

"WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH YOU? DON'T CALL ME YOUR DAMN PAPA YOU LITTLE BRAT!"

Such rough, aggressive words were not like Papa. Nana pulled back from his body as she rubbed the tears out of her eyes. "Aren't you...?"

With a towering presence and a slick commanding gaze hidden behind orange shades the real saviour was unveiled before Nana's eyes. "And don't call out to me whilst looking so elated!"

"Oh, it's you..." Nana's hopes of a reunion with her Papa were quickly replaced with disappointment – replaced much like half of this man's body.

But the reaction from Mayu could not have been more ecstatic and joyous. The seemingly invincible commando warrior had indeed returned to the beach as she cried out his name with the utmost elation.

"BANDOU-SAN!"

_…_

**"Stupid girl..." **The Unknown Man kicked a few pebbles as he realised his one chance to go up against the Diclonii Queen was crushed quite literally at the hands of Anna.

But before he could wallow in his true disappointment a brilliantly bright light came from Anna's enclosed fist. In its brief life it shone blindingly brighter than the core of the sun as the light finally exploded, unleashing its wave of destruction in one direct beam up to the ceiling.

_Impossible..._

_…_

**BOOOOOOMMMM!**

Arakawa was rocked by the major earth tremors, her hands covering her head for protection as she collapsed to her knees. "KYAAAAAH! What the hell is this noise?" As the earth shook many things were knocked off shelves, though by some divine miracle her project remained intact. She staggered over to her computer monitor and began typing in something, bringing up a wildly fluctuating readout. "Such high-frequency waves – it can only be-"

Arakawa was cut off by the surreal display of a hundred long arms reaching out of the ground and towards the ceiling, as if stretching out to the heavens.

Arakawa's expression said it all, but nonetheless she found herself asking, "What is this?" It was as if a thousand ethereal beings were reaching up to heaven. And as the divine hands reached for the moon itself, bursting through the entire compound and blooming across the Island like a massive lotus flower, Arakawa expressed her true angst at that seemingly despair-filled moment.

"You've gotta be fucking kidding me!"

…

The view from outside was much more spectacular to behold. One possibly lucky helicopter passenger was receiving a front row view of the full extent of the Goddesses sky ripping power.

As the Agent's chopper flew around the epicentre of the light explosion the pilot swiftly offered his qualified above on the situation, "We need to get the fuck out of here!"

"No wait!" The Agent nearly felt compelled to press his head against the window so he could get that extra millimetre closer to the awe-inspiring display which was occuring before him. "We're still going down there...My mission isn't complete yet..."

The pilot shook his head as he realised this may be his first and last flight without a pay-check. "As you wish Ms-"

The chopper pilot was quickly cut off by The Agent's .50 calibre. "Hey...Just shut up and land this thing."

"Y-Yes r-right away!" The pilot's teeth continued chattering in complete fear as he navigated the chopper down towards the ground. "The helipad's been taken out so this is the safest place we can land."

"That'll be good enough." The stoic Agent loaded his gun as he prepared himself to enter Lucy's Den – the cradle of a Goddess.

…

Meanwhile back on the main flagship of the First escort Fleet, the captain and his crew began fearing the worst as a giant wave was about to reach them. "30 metre high wave detected from the Island."

"Tell the fleet to keep vertical of the wave!" The Fleet Commander shouted his orders to a fellow crew member nearby. "We will capsize at this rate..." _How could such a generated such a huge wave be generated from that Island?_

"Captain, we really should dump our cargo." The First Mate of the flagship expressed his grave concerns for the ship's stability.

"90 seconds until wave arrives." The other crew member said as he continued glancing at an array of different monitors and buttons.

"Right, we're dumping our carg-"

"You will do no such thing." The main Operative quickly overruled the Fleet Commander. "It is imperative that our cargo reaches that island."

"Who are you to be making the orders on this ship?" The First Mate snapped at what he viewed were 'outsiders' on the fleet.

"We're the one's making orders now!" The Operative retorted as he lifted out a packet of cigarettes from his shirt pocket, picking out a cigarette with his teeth before lighting it.

"How dare you!" The First Mate barked back. "You have some nerve trying to take command of our crew!"

"Wave approaching in 45 seconds." The monitor crewman began sweating with the increased tension boiling in the room.

"I will not be putting the lives of my crewman at risk any further." The Fleet Commander declared to the Operative. "Send the order to dump the cargo."

"Yes sir!" The First Mate began to relay his orders through the radio. "ANNOUNCEMENT TO THE FLEET-"

BANG! The order was never delivered, the First Mate's skull shattered by a point blank bullet through the temple.

"YOU FUCKING BASTARD!" The Fleet Commander snapped until he heard a gun clicking against his head. "Why you-"

The Operative cut the Admiral of the First Escort Fleet off again. "As far as we're concerned, the cargo on this ship is far more important than your lives."

"The Wave is here!" The crewman continued conveying the status reports even as the blood of his superior was pooling around his feet.

"SHIT!" The Fleet Commander held onto a metal frame as the ship took on the full brunt of the mega wave. The colossal wave lifting the bow up to 30, 40, then 50 degrees as the giant force of water finally passed.

"What's the situation?" The Fleet commander staggered back onto his feet as he began to receive the status report he was dreading to ever have to hear.

"Both _Imai _and _Araii _have capsized; _Hasegawa _flooded and unable to steer."

The Fleet Commander had lost half of his entire fleet crew. His entire expression sunk with the thoughts of so many lives discarded under his watch. He gripped the handle of the metal frame as he noticed the Operatives had suddenly disappeared. _Those fucking guys will pay..._

**…**

"Director, I've just received urgent news from our facility." Residing on the penthouse floor of an upmarket hotel, one of Kakuzawa's researchers relayed the disaster unfolding back at his Island facility. "A major eruption has occurred in the underground levels of our facility."

The ageing Director rose from his chair and walked over to the panoramic windows, gazing out towards what appeared to be a low star on the horizon where the Island was. "Splendid...Our Eve has finally spread her wings..." And as the wrinkled self-proclaimed God of the New World admired his confident gaze looking back at him through the reflection of the glass pane, he clasped his hands behind his back, rolling a small remote device between his palms. **_And perhaps it is almost time for our other Angels to begin their flight too..._**

* * *

><p><strong>Elfen Lied: The Second Verse - <strong>Episode 10 preview

_"Why did you help me?"_

_"**What a glorious display!**"_

"_Hey Panty Girl! Get in!"_

_"I might actually need you to help me this time..."_

_"Kouta?_"

The Angel of Death has opened her wings, no longer bound to the earthrealm, she unleashes her wrath. How many of the ants she calls humans can survive the Angel's descent? Will Arakawa at least be one of them? And as more of Kakuzawa's plot begins to be uncovered, will we soon find out his true plans for the New Age of Humanity? Don't miss the next epic episode of _Elfen Lied: The Second Verse_!


	10. Episode 10: Dämmerung

**Get comfy because this episode is the equivalent of a double-length special feature (by that I mean it's double the wordcount of the last few chapters)! This is the longest episode so far and it sets us up for the final major arc of the Elfen Lied Manga. Hopefully my final few chapters will reach a similar wordcount but then again it's all about quality not quantity right?**

**And before we get with the Episode, a huge round of applause for The Layman for writing a significant amount of Arakawa's flight from the research facility (I wonder if you readers out there be able to tell our writing styles apart by now?). He earns at least 56.78% of the praise for this chapter - a great help as always. So make sure you guys check out some of The Laymans work while your waiting for the next exciting installment of _The Second Verse_!**

**And I've given you a beefed up playlist for this chapter - probably about twice as long as it would take you to read anyway but oh well. You know what to do...Enjoy!**

Track 8 - Playlist

Emilie Autumn – Unlaced

Dimmu Borgir – Spellbound

Alien Trilogy OST – BGM 02

Alien Trilogy OST – BGM 09

Alien Trilogy OST – BGM 08

The Darkness – Bald

Mustache – I Hunt Alone

Hellsing Ultimate OST – Gradus Vita

Berserk – Parasite

Dynasty Warrioirs 4 OST – EVE

Rob Zombie – Superbeast

Deathstars – Cyanide

Rammstein – Ein Lied

Dynasty Warriors 5 OST – Run, Run, Run

X-Ray Dog – Screaming Souls

Alien Trilogy OST – BGM 11

Skillet – The Last Night

* * *

><p><strong><strong>Track 10: Dämmerung (黎明): Dawning<br>****

_~Even though I like being cool in front of people, I'm a wimp when I'm alone..._

_I don't wanna die...~_

_…_

BACK ON MAIN ESCORT FLEET:

_"How is it?"_

_"It's bad. Number 12 is about to break."_

CLICK. "I won't forgive you..."

"NUMBER 12 IS BROKE!"

"DON'T LOOK!"

**…**

"There's no doubt," Arakawa realised as she ran through all the tests she could think of...well, those that one could do in the space of five minutes. If these ghostly hands were what she feared they were, she wanted to be damn sure, "they're vectors... But, that can't be! To think that the vectors can reach a wavelength visible to the naked eye..." She thought about this for a moment before she realised it wasn't as far fetched as it sounded. The few times she was around the other scientists here, mostly in either the cafeteria or the locker room, she'd heard them talking about a Diclonius called Number 35. They said it had been so powerful that you could see its vectors coming through the massive container it was kept in.

Then the computer began to beep rapidly, new readouts popping up all over the screen.

It didn't lift her spirits that all of them were red.

_OK, I _know _this shouldn't be possible; _she thought as she studied these new readouts, _I thought vectors were supposed to spread the virus, not-_

Then it hit her.

And then the floor exploded.

…

"It's no good! There's no response from the main system and the hub system!" In one of the main control rooms, the researchers were already beginning to fear the worst had happened. One of the chief researchers yelled out more updates of the facility's status. "We can't restore the power..." As the Control Room Manager began wiping his brow, considering the multiple scenarios that they may be facing he called back down to his other staff members. "Tell them to evacuate immediately."

"It won't work," one of the female staff members shouted back, her voice indicating the sense of urgency these normal everyday working people had found themselves in. "Emergency systems down as well."

The Control Room Manger rubbed his chin as he realised the cards were down. _This facility was designed to withstand earthquakes and tsunamis, but we never considered an explosion underneath..._

_What if those Diclonii underground got released! __"_ABANDON THIS FLOOR! EVERONE RETREAT!"

As the large number of staff made their way to the door and opened it, they were instantly confronted by a river of monsters: naked Diclonii with various shaped veils over their heads; some had two tiny circle eye-holes, others had three or even five whilst some had only one large ovoid hole on the centre, a small number of them had horizontal or vertical slits cut across their masks. But all the various patterns and designs of their masks were essentially to hide their mutant forms. These were the junk left behind from cloning experiments. These were the forgotten Diclonii.

But now they wanted blood...

**"It's the humans!"** The Diclonii horde whisked their heads around and began their revenge on their human captors.

"SHIT! CLOSE THE DOOR!" the Control Room manager issued his last order as every last person he had known in his working life had vanished in a curtain of blood. Only their legs remained intact, splashing into the crimson puddles which now flood the entire room.

"OH GOD NO!" the Control Manager's grief was short lived as he was shown very little mercy as well. He didn't have the chance to think about his wife or daughter in those last seconds. None of them could even contemplate that they'd never see their families or loved ones again...This was never anticipated, even in such a high-risk job.

But unfortunately, none of them ever had the chance to fathom this nightmarish reality.

...

A bit of rubble fell from the ceiling, bringing the brown haired scientist back to consciousness.

"Ugh..." she groaned as her eyes fluttered open, "what happened?" She tried to pick herself up, only to stop halfway when a dull pain made itself know in her side. "Atatata...what the hell was that?" she wondered. As she surveyed the room she saw that much of it had disappeared; her workspace now had a lovely Oceanside view. Wondering how severe the damage was (and wondering if the building itself wasn't going to collapse at any minute) she crawled to the edge and peered down.

And down...

And down...

And down...

"Holy _shit!_" the formerly bespectacled (her glasses had somehow been lost in the explosion) exclaimed, "This must go all the way down to the Lebensborn cave, but..." Then her eyes caught movement on the ground outside; a bunch of naked girls, failed Diclonii clones, with sacks over their heads were surrounding a helicopter that was attempting to take off. Just as it began to clear the island something burst through it and it crashed into the ocean in flames.

"This island is hopeless..." she said as she stared at the burning wreckage in the sea. Her thoughts then turned to her vaccine. _If I don't get the vaccine out of here than mankind will be annihilated._

Then she noticed that all the failed Diclonii were staring up directly at her.

"They saw me," she gasped, rushing over to her vaccine samples (which had miraculously survived the destruction before). "There's no way I can't die yet," she panted, hurriedly packing the vaccine up, "I'm the saviour of mankind!"

Suddenly there was a pounding on the door, startling the young scientist. It slowly began to creak open, revealing more of the failed Diclonii standing there.

"Don't come in here!" she cried, jumping over to door and slamming it shut. For extra measure she locked it as well.

_That ought to hold them..._she thought, taking a moment to catch her breath.

She was proven wrong a second later when she was thrown back and the door blown out of its frame and down into the newly made shaft.

Arakawa cowered back as failed Diclonii began to fill what was left of the small room.

_No, _she thought, _I can't die in a place like this; if I do then it'll be as a member of an evil organisation, not as the saviour of the world..._

The failed Diclonii shambled closer, reached out for her like zombies in an old movie.

"SOMEONE SAVE ME!" she screamed, throwing her arms in front of her face and shutting her eyes tight, waiting...

And waiting...

Why wasn't she dead yet? (Not that she wasn't grateful...) She slowly cracked open her eye...

To see that there were only half the clones left.

Namely, the failed Diclonii were missing half their bodies.

"Wh-...how?" she stammered. As what was essentially the legs of the failed Diclonii fell over she noticed a figure standing in the shadow of the door frame. "Hey there, who are you?"

The figure moved timidly out of the doorway and into the evening light. It was a little girl with two bone like protrusions poking through her pinkish blonde hair.

_A Diclonius Silpelit! _Arakawa realised. _Great, out of the frying pan and all that... *Sigh*...I just hope she kills me quickly; at least if she kills me it'll be seen as some sort of justice being served-_

"Myu?"

"..."

Arakawa was stunned, too much so to form words. She'd always heard that Silpelits were indiscriminate killers, and yet this one...

"Myu."

Vicious killers, _right..._

"You came here to help me?" she wondered. The scientist gestured the little girl to come forward, but when she tried she fell down before taking two steps.

"Waa! Are you alright?" Arakawa rushed over to the Diclonius and propped her up. The girl was wearing a clearly borrowed shirt and pants that looked a little too big for her. The shirt was left unbuttoned she could see the bandages wrapped around the girl's chest. "That looks serious, what happened?"

The girl looked up at the kind hearted scientist and suddenly burst into tears, hugging her and crying "Umyuuu!" into her chest.

Arakawa was shocked at first, but then her motherly instincts kicked in and she hugged the girl back.

_She must be mistaking me for someone else, _she thought, letting a smile creep onto her face. "There there," she cooed, "don't cry; you saved me." She brushed the young girl's bangs out of her forehead...

And felt something small and metallic that she was pretty sure was not a standard feature on little girls, Diclonii or otherwise.

"The hell...?" she said, pushing the rest of the little Diclonius' hair back. She didn't work with live patients much, (on account that she worked more on the micro-biotic scale most of the time), but the metal plug didn't seem too hard to remove. She got up and filed through a drawer before finding something she could use to pry it out with. "OK, I'll just have that thing out in a jiffy..."

"Don't!" someone shouted from the doorway. They then rushed toward the doctor and kicked the tool out of her hand and down the large hole to meet its new friends, Mr. Door. "What the hell is wrong with you, you want to get killed?"

"W-w-what the hell is wrong with _you_?" she countered, pointing emphatically at the newcomer. "Popping up out of nowhere and attacking people... And who are you anyway?"

"I'm from another research facility," he said. (Was he a guy? He looked and sounded kind of feminine...)

Arakawa didn't know what to say, she'd just always assumed theirs was the only facility of its kind.

"I'm getting out of here," the man (who looked kinda like a girl) said, suddenly turning on his heel and heading out of the room. "If you don't want to get left behind then I suggest you hurry up."

"So fast!..." she flustered, just before a tremor shook the whole building. Arakawa shrieked as she heard chunks of the building begin to break off.

_This isn't good,_ she fretted. _If the island keeps shaking like this, and if this hole really does go down as far as the Lebensborn cave, then it could very well sink! ...I don't want to die like that!_

"Diana?" Arakawa looked back and saw that the young Diclonius, "Diana" apparently, had fainted. "Are you alright?"

As he bent down to examine the Mariko clone Arakawa was starting to get anxious. After all, the island they were on could sink beneath the waves any time now, and she didn't really feel like starting an underwater utopia that was ultimately doomed to fail from scratch any time soon.

"Hey you," she said to the man, wanting to hurry this rescue up a little, "how the hell did you get here anyway?"

"Did this girl save you?" he asked, completely ignoring her own question.

"Huh?" The question came completely out of left field and threw the poor scientist a bit. "Oh, uh, yeah. Why?"

"...Whatever, I'm leaving." He picked up the Mariko clone and headed out the door again, "Go hide in a locker or something if you don't want to die."

"Waa! No way!" He was leaving her _again_. "Take me with you!"

"No," he said bluntly. Arakawa could believe her ears.

"But you have to!" she pleaded, "This island is going to sink soon."

"In that case just escape by yourself," he told her, an edge beginning to creep into his voice, "I'm looking for things here."

"Looking for things? What on earth could you be looking for?" Geez, could this guy be any more vague? Then she remembered the situation she was in, "You know, there's probably a lot of Diclonii right outside..."

He wasn't even paying attention to her anymore, he was was staring off into space.

"And...?" Arakawa persisted, starting to loose patience with this weird guy. He finally glanced over at her, giving her a less-than-a-second once over.

"It won't help even if I tell you," he said dismissively, turning back to the doorway. "Now tell me, where is the researcher that developed the virus?"

"At least look at someone when you ask a question..." the scientist lady bristled. Then the ground shook again and Arakawa was reminded that Atlantis was about to be founded. "Hey! We need to get out of here fast!"

"I said I was searching for some things," he said, "escape by yourself."

"ARE YOU BRAINDEAD!" Arakawa couldn't take it anymore; she wanted to win the Nobel prize dammit! And she needed to be alive to do that! "You are aware that hanging around here any longer means death, don't you? Or is what you're looking for more important than you life?"

What she said must have actually snuck into his brain and convinced all the little versions of him that worked there that living was the preferable choice.

"Guess it cant be helped..." he sighed, reaching into his jacket. He pulled out something that looked like a mechanical crossbow and then picked up the young Diclonius. "Let's go. Follow me."

"What's with the sudden big shot attitude?" she shouted at him as he left. She was about to rush after him when she suddenly remember the vaccine. _I have to bring this with me, for the sake of the world._

_..._

"This ain't good." The Agent noticed their path was blocked by a dozen more Silpelit clones. He turned back to the half naked scientist, "Go and wake up Diana, I haven't got many bullets left."

"What!" Arakawa began trembling as she realised her prospects of getting out alive with at least some of her dignity intact was fading fast. "Hey you wake up!" Arakawa began shaking and slapping Diana's cheeks in a desperate effort to rouse the Mariko Clone. "Hurry up and help us like you did before."

As The Agent unleashed the last two spiked bullets into the mutant crowd he cursed to himself. "Shit, we're out of steel balls...Only 3 Tungsten Rounds left."

Arakawa seethed as she noticed the Diclonii were closing the distance fast. _You gotta be kidding! I can't afford to die here! _"Diana please!"

Just as some of the first few clones were about to reap their vectors onto the humans their upper bodies were torn from their lower halves. Arakawa looked back down at Diana, relieved that she had finally opened her eyes. "Diana? Thank God you're awake." Then her slight motherly tone was changed to one of determination, seeing the tables turn back in the scientist's favour, Arakawa waved out her hand and gave the little pink haired clone one simple order.

"MOW 'EM DOWN!"

_…_

"Hey, get off me ya' brat..." Bandou tried hopelessly to wriggle Mayu off his waist, the tiny girl lifting off her feet as he spun around, looking quite embarrassed. "Ohh screw it..." If some journalists were nearby they may have captured a million dollar picture of Bandou smiling ever so slightly.

Mayu looked up to her giant pal. "Bandou *sniff* I *sniff* knew *sniff* you *sniff*-"

"Geez kid settle down then try and talk!" Bandou advised as he rested his hands on Mayu's shoulders. "Aww geez...look, take this." Bandou offered the tiny black-haired girl a handkerchief so she could wipe the torrid amounts of tears and snot collecting down her face like a careless toddler.

"*PWWWWFFF*" Mayu blew all the air out of her lungs as she wiped her nose the way a child half of her age probably would, scrunching the piece of cloth as she rubbed her eyes until they were red. "Sorry Bandou-san, I've messed up your handkerchief now..." Mayu held out the slimy handkerchief as something green and possibly living dripped off the bottom corner.

"UGH! GOD NO YOU CAN KEEP IT!" For once it seemed even the mighty invincible S.A.T commando was grossed out by something.

"Bandou-san...I just knew you couldn't die." Mayu cupped her hands together as she swooned over her beloved Bandou.

And, showing he was still his truly old arrogant self, Bandou stabbed his robotic thumb to his chest, the swift movement lifting up his shirt enough to reveal the cache of mechanical organs which now constructed his lower body. "I thought I told you: **As if my beautiful self could ever die..."**

"Thanks for saving us Bandou-san." Mio walked over, showing a far more reserved reaction than her schoolmate. "I guess you weren't just some crazy man on the beach after all."

Bandou tossed his head up in the air in his heroic pride. "Well that's no problem, now you all owe me-HEY WAIT A MINUTE YOU LITTLE RUNT!"

"Hee-he-he!~" Mayu started chuckling at Bandou's somewhat childish behaviour. "I think what Mio-chan is trying to say is, you are a very reliable person we're very grateful you came back to save us."

"Geagh...Well you all owe me big time now!" Bandou snorted as he turned towards the ocean.

"Isn't it great Nana? Bandou's alive?" Mayu ran over and hugged her pink haired friend.

Nana still seemed quite plain in her expression, her jaw hanging loosely as she answered her more bubbly friend. "Yeah I guess it's great to see him back again..."

"Hehehe-" Mayu suddenly stopped herself as she held Nana's hands. "Oh no I'm terribly sorry Nana-chan, your Papa still hasn't returned yet."

Nana's expression suddenly hardened to ice as she pulled her hands away from Mayu's and walked past her, leaving Mayu feeling awkward. "Nana?"

As she dug her heels into the soft sand with each step she stopped a couple of metres behind the man who she now owed her life to. "You're going after Lucy too right?"

"Aye..." Bandou nodded without looking back.

"I don't care if you say no, I'm going after her as well," Nana said with grave determination in her voice.

"Fine by me," Bandou casually responded as he took a few more steps away.

"Try and stop me if you will, but I-wait WHAT?" Nana suddenly realised what he had said. Did this mean they could finally be seen as allies?

"I said that suits me just fine..." Bandou turned back with a cocky grin. "In fact, I think I could do a few extra hands this time."

"Does Bandou-san still wish to fight Nyu-san?" Mayu stepped forward her with her hands lowered and a more sullen expression on her face.

"Hey! The two of us ain't through until one of us winds up being killed to death!" Bandou retorted in his usual more aggressive tone.

"Well..." Mayu averted her gaze as she pondered her decision. She felt as if she was having to choose between two of best friends at that point. Finally she turned back with a superficial smile "...If Bandou-san wishes to fight Nyu-san, then Mayu will fight with him."

"You kids can tag along for a while, but I swear if you get in my way I'll show no mercy to any of you!" Bandou swore as he clenched his human fist. "Anyway, I've still got a shitload of ammo left in this truck somewhere...You brats can help me unpack it as part of your debt to me now."

"Hai!" Mio saluted as she scrunched her eyebrows.

"Unn!" Mayu chirped with enthusiasm.

Nana turned back to Barbara's corpse, she frowned as she noticed the one-armed, one-legged girl sprawled quite awkwardly with her bloody head buried in the sand.

_"At least you were lucky enough to have a Papa...I don't have any parents! I was born in a freaking test tube!"_

Nana was quite startled to feel the large, mechanical hand of Bandou's resting on her shoulder. "I'll give her a proper burial when we get there."

The Human-sympathising Diclonius simply nodded as a few stray tears stung her eyes. _She never knew the love of her parents...She only grew up to know of hate...Even if I cannot see you anymore Papa, I'm glad I was able to enjoy feeling loved..._

As Bandou wrapped Barbara in his jacket and hurled the Diclonius over his shoulder he faced his three little recruits as he barked out his orders. "Right you maggots, move out!"

...

_**"**__**~OOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!~**__**"**_

**"Truly spectacular, what a glorious display!"** The Unknown Man marvelled at the Horned-Angel's Monarch. Lucy crawled back to her feet as heavy torrents of Anna's blood rained down upon her naked body. Anna's Goliath arm landed a hundred metres away, the limb with the weight of a small bus seemingly discarded by the Diclonii Queen with a mere flick of her empowered vectors.

"You people piss me-GURK!" Lucy froze up as she gripped her stomach in pain, coughing out something dark and crimson in complexion onto her hand. She stared at her trembling hand with shock and confusion. "Blood? What..."

**"Your power has increased beyond our expectation my dear Queen."** The Man continued preaching to his idol. **"Now I will truly enjoy this!"** The Man drew out his crossbow and fired a ball towards Lucy's abdomen. But the spiked ball held itself mid-flight as it continued rotating in its corkscrew motion before Lucy finally inverted the trajectory back towards her otherwise mortal opponent.

**"Now your vectors can even push back something of this mass..."** The Unknown Man darted on his feet as he circled Lucy's position waiting for a possible opening in her many invisible limbs. **"COME ON LUCY, LET ME PROVE MY WORTH TO YOU!"** The Man dived to the side as he fired another spiked ball at her left ribcage. Lucy snarled in her annoyance but was not able to stop the ball this time. The barbed projectile embedding itself into her ribcage and grinding against the bone, licking its venom directly onto the nerves and tendons which dressed her innermost flesh.

"GUUUUWWWWAAAAAARRRGGGHHH!" Lucy dropped back to her knees as the pain flowed into her side, pulsing across her entire body with each rapid heartbeat.

**"I guess the altered spin on that last one was just a bit too much for your vectors to handle."** The Man crunched his feet against the rocky ground as he grabbed a large bunch of Lucy's hair, lifting her head violently so he could see her wincing expression. **"I don't care what Uncle said, I must have you Lucy! You and I will be the Adam and Eve of the new race!"**

"F-Fuck you and your new race!" Lucy spat out with laboured breaths as she struggled to subdue the pain.

**"I love a woman with passion...I have truly earned this treasure-KUKUKU!"** The Man pulled Lucy by the hair back onto the hard rocky ground. Lucy groaned as the back of her head collided with a small rock. **"Oh sorry dear Queen! I hope that won't make you become the cute innocent version again – I want you to roar and scream in your current form as I murder your insides!"** The Man slid his tongue across Lucy's chest, moving up to her throat as he lifted the tip of her neck, lashings of his crude saliva trailing across her face. **"How rude of me, I should have mentioned that I added a little muscle relaxant to that spiked bullet earlier...You won't be able to move for at least an hour. Plus with the nuerotoxin coursing through your body, you can no longer use your vectors."** The Unknown Man moves his hand like a spider slowly down towards Lucy's legs. **"Such a perfect combination, and I saved it all for you my precious Eve...Only an angel of your form truly deserves this. Now..."**

…

**?**

**_~~How dare you let him take our body!~~_**

_~~But I-~~_

**_~~His inferior seed will sully our chances of a new world...He must be destroyed!~~_**

_~~But it hurts...It hurts to use this power so much~~_

**_~~You WILL use your power. Don't forget that you still owe me for the gift that I gave you...~~_**

_~~This power, I have already killed enough with these hands, Kouta would still be alive if I hadn't-~~_

**_~~Kouta – yes that stupid boy! He's dead now! And guess who took his very life? That's right, it was those foolish humans you are trying so hard to defend!~~_**

_~~Kouta! He was killed by those men who raided the Maple Inn...Our home...~~_

**_~~What point is there in defending those who killed the one person who ever truly cared about...Now that he's gone, should you be taking your vengeance out on these filthy rats?~~_**

_~~Kouta...Kouta...Kouta...Yes...I will...I will make them pay...I will make them all pay...~~_

…

**"I hope you're paying attention my Eve, we're about to begin sowing the seed of our new race..."** Just as the self-proclaimed Adam was about to combine with his Eve, he found his left arm being torn off from just past the shoulder. As he noticed the bone and flesh jagging out of his missing limb he smiled as he realised his own miscalculation. "**You aren't going to let your Adam take the Apple as easily as I thought...Interesting..."**

The Man jumped off of Lucy as she was about to slash her guillotine across his mug for a second time. She staggered back to her feet as she gripped the spiked ball in her side. "GGGGGGRRRRRRRNNNNNHHHHH!" She defied both pain and paralysis as she used her extra hands to finally pry out the offending ball, taking a fair chunk of her dermis in the process. "AAAAARRGGGGHHH!" Lucy bashed her vectors against the ground, in her enraged state she ripped out some of the many boulders which dotted the grotto, throwing them towards her despised enemy. The boulders reached their target easily enough, but they didn't seem to be doing their job in crushing the human into a fleshy pancake.

**"MWAHAHAHAHAHA! YES! YES! MORE! I WANT TO SEE MORE OF THIS POWER!"**The Man's grin nearly tore apart his very lips as his gums stretched to their limits in ecstasy.

"KOURGH!" Lucy spluttered out another bucket load of goopy red bile as she continued her rage. "**JUST FUCKING DIE!**" Lucy tore out a whole chuck of earth as she slammed the giant boulder down onto her opponent. But as the floating micro-island descended upon the Man, a clean dark line could be seen drawing across the middle of the boulder, drawing itself upwards until it expanded into a crack and splitting the giant piece of rock, cleanly in two. "What the fuck are you?" Lucy found herself asking as she continued gripping her stomach.

**"GUHAHAHAHA! It looks like I was hiding one more secret from my Eve!"** The Man – normally wrapped in a dark void of coats and attire gripped the middle of his jacket and tore open the middle, revealing his true form – a form that was so vile and disgusting, that even Lucy was cringing at the sheer sight of it.

His body could only be described as a living uterus. Long banners of intestines and organs coiled around his abdomen like the wires of a robot as the organic tubes pulsated, snaking and oscillating in an orchestra of autonomous living beings.

**"Now you realise my dear Lucy...I am the only one with a seed worthy of your body. As the only man who can use vectors, I have been chosen as your Adam! Not even Anna could have ****predicted such a prophecy!"**

"You really are a monster..." Lucy held one arm by her stomach as she limped forward. "You made yourself a human experiment so you could rival my own power?" Lucy was quickly thrown back into shock as she felt a number of invisible hands slither across her body.

**"Not just rival...My hands have been given to me by God himself!"** Lucy launched backwards as she pushed her vectors on the ground, dodging the Man's nerve snipping attack. **"You saw right through that one- Geddit! MWAHAHAHA!" **The Man still hung onto his crossbow with his one arm as he fired his last remaining round at Lucy, the bullet scraping just past her right thigh as she averted the strike much easier with her exponentially growing vector power. **"Prepare yourself Lucy! HAAAHH" **The Man growled like a dog on heat as he charged towards Lucy with his own vectors now flaring across the back of his body. Lucy dodged his animal charge as she scraped her insubstantial blades across his entire left side, carving through the soft flesh of his cheek to reveal more of his canines as his eyes slid across to meet her position. His smile grew asymmetrically larger as he quickly dug something out of his right pocket. Just hidden behind the veil of his flowing trenchcoat, he aimed what appeared to be a large handgun. With the two of them caught in such a close range, the barrel was aiming for her chest – the bullet firing out of its container, with Lucy's vectors managing to at least avert the heavy bullet away from her critical areas.

"GAAAGGHH!" The bullet only clipped her shoulder, but the heavy mass took a large chunk of her left shoulder in the process, revealing some of the ball joint.

**"Did you just assume I would only rely on my vectors at this point?"** The Man connected his hard boot against Lucy's inured shoulder, knocking her down onto her back as she continued writhing in pain. **"Pain and death are beyond my current form, I am the one closest to God!" **The deranged Man stood over Lucy pointing his gun at Lucy's head. **"I only require your uterus, ovum and placenta...Yes-yes-yes, with Uncle's technology we can harvest the new seeds forever as long as we keep the reproductive organs alive Kukuku!" **The Man rubbed his hands in his twisted plan as he paid his focus back on what he now saw as a mere incubator. **"Well maybe if I just cut off your arms and legs, I can at least give you the pleasure of seeing your first child before you die MWAHAHA!"**

Lucy had to end this nightmare. She needed to find the answers to herself...But she wouldn't find them here in this cold and dreary underground lake. She noticed the giant lake monster which had been quietly observing the battle until now was finally making her next move, with her other remaining arm sweeping across in one huge arc as it knocked the Man off his feet and sent him flying across the grotto. The various stone structures gradually slowed his momentum as he broke through a dozen of the standing boulders before he stopped, leaving a huge trail of dust and powdered rock behind.

**"ANNA! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" **The Man seemed insulted at Anna's betrayal.

**"_~You've been toying with Lucy for far too long...She must be killed...~_"**

**"You aren't the one who decides her fate...That has been bestowed to me now!" **The Man retorted in his crazed mood.

**"_~In order to protect Father, she must be stopped...You have no claim over what is rightly Father's~_"**

**"You stupid girl. Uncle offered me this gift because he trusts me the most. You were just a lost cause, so he made you into a giant lab rat so he could gain some use out of your otherwise worthless existence!"**

_**"~You're lying! FATHER LOVES ANNA!~"**_Anna threw down her fist against the Man's position but he sliced vertically across her arm, splitting it down the middle. **_"~OOOAAAGGGHH~"_**

**"Foolish child, you should have just behaved yourself and-"** SPLURCH. The Man paused as he noticed his heart staring in front of his vision. The vital organ kept beating rapidly as it hovered towards his face before it spontaneously imploded, gushing its swathes of blood onto the Man's pale and deathly face.

"I wish you two could save your family dispute for when I'm not around..." Lucy appeared behind the Unknown Man, her left arm hanging by a mere thread from her shoulder as she staggered forward. "I'm through listening to your Godly bullshit."

The Man's shades fell off as he revealed bagging eyes widened with shock and a quivering jaw. **"L-L-Lucy my dear...Why would you want to betray your own kind? We can crush the humans together you know- pay them back for oppressing us for hundred of years...We were going to usher in the new age together...Just you and me-Screw Anna and Uncle, I have my own ambitions...You can see where I'm coming from right?"**

The Man continued squabbling like a headless cockroach as blood continued spewing out of the giant hole where his heart one resided. "You're nothing even close to my kind..You're just a failed experiment..." Lucy showed what she really thought of his ambitions by chopping him down a leg or two.

**"Lucy wait! We are on the same side after all! **The Man hopelessly pleaded in desperation as Lucy broke each finger in succession on his one remaining limb. **"YOU DAMN BITCH, I SAVED YOUR LIFE AND THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY ME!" ****Lucy tilted her head showing her slight acknowledgement of this depraved souls words. ****"That's right, when those soldiers had you cornered all those months ago...Who the fuck do you think killed them all? If it wasn't for me you'd be-"**

PRRIIITTCH...The sound of Lucy twisting off The Man's head was like music to the Diclonii Queen's ears. Finally she no longer had to hear his annoying voice. She grasped his crude bald head with her vectors before she pushed them against the bony globe, crushing it into a wet, fleshy patty of grey matter and bone. "Foolish human, I know who saved me that night...And it wasn't your sorry arse!"

_**"~DIE!~"**_Anna tried to use this chance to finally end the Diclonius' life but like a giant doll, her other arm was pulled apart and removed. As the giant creature threw her whole body towards Lucy, the Diclonii Queen focused all her vectors upon Anna's huge skull, sawing diagonally through the giant head as a tsunami of blood splashed onto Lucy.

"You really were a stupid girl." Lucy regarded as she spluttered out more bloody phlegm. "But I guess this father of yours wasn't that cruel to you afterall..." _As for myself, I never knew my Father nor my Mother...I was discarded by them much the way society has for my entire life..._

_"You have horns like an oxen...Oxen belong in a zoo! Hahaha!"_

_I never had a place to call home or a group of people I could call a family...At least that was until I met Kouta again and the people of the Maple Inn..._

_"When Spring returns it'll be a year since we first met Nyu...Those were the days huh?"_

_"She probably doesn't remember the first day she came here..."_

_"...And wet herself right in the middle of the corridor!"_

_'NYU!'_

_"HAHAHA!"_

Tears soaked into the caked blood which stained Lucy's face. Her face frowning into sadness and sorrow as she wiped her eyes against her wrist. "Ungh...Kouta...Why can't I ever be with you again? What point is there in living if you're not around? I really don't know what my purpose is anymore..."

The underground cave was beginning to fall apart as tremors rocked the entire island. Giant boulders crashed into the water as the grotto began caving in. And as Lucy continued expressing her grief over the loss of the one person she truly found her sense of self with, Lucy began her long trek to find her answer...

_…_

BACK ON THE UPPER LEVELS OF THE FACILITY:

Things had turned once again for worst for Arakawa. After blazing through the mutant ranks they soon found their reliable Diclonii ally had been decapitated; her head taken off her body by a rogue clone with vectors longer than her sisters.

And to make matters worse, the bishounen gunslinger had used up his last bullets.

Now the two of them were teetering on the rooftop as the clones began their ascent up the stairs, slowly consuming every possible avenue of escape.

"Quickly, get in the lift!" The Agent ordered the pantsless scientist as she gently lowered the vaccine box in before lifting a leg over.

"Wait aren't you getting in?" She yelled back as she saddled the lift railing.

"This lift can only be controlled manually. And if I don't control the break you'll crash."

"But-"

"Listen carefully, once you reach the ground, go left. There's a helicopter I came here in with armed guards," The Agent explained to her in clear urgency.

"But what about you?" Arakawa cried out as she slipped her other leg inside.

The Agent lifted off his shades, revealing sparkling eyes. With a sad smile he answered. "You have the vaccine...That's why I can't let you die."

As the clones began making their way up to the rooftop, The Agent gripped onto the brake lever, "I'm counting on you, please save mankind."

Arakawa was still shocked at his willingness to sacrifice his own life for her sake. "What are you talking about? Are you stupid or-WAAAGHH NOOOO!" Her screaming protests carried on down the building as she made her descent on the tiny lift.

"OKAY NOW YOU'RE TURN! HURRY AND GET DOWN..." As Arakawa lifted her neck up towards the rooftop she could see a fountain of blood raising its tragic form. "Dammit! How did it come to this?" Arakawa slammed her fists against the railing, biting the inside of her cheeks to hold back her tears of anguish. "What the hell have I done?"

But her self-regret would have to wait a little longer. Arakawa had to at least do the descent thing in return for that man and not let herself get killed. She jumped off the lift and stepped lightly on her feet as she took the left, poking her head around the corner of the building.

_Okay this is it..._But when she reached the Helicopter it had already been reduced to a burning scrap heap. More of the clones circled around the burning wreckage, admiring the fire and the death they had inflicted.

As Arakawa heard more footsteps approaching behind her, she began to smile past her tears. "Funny, I no longer feel afraid of dying." _Because I haven't done a damn thing right in my life...Even with this vaccine, I cannot fully atone for my sins..._

And as the Clones began circling around the Bachelor Degree Scientist who had gone from the simple life of working as a professor's aid to formulating part of the destruction of mankind, the plain looking woman cuddled her vaccine like a stuffed animal as her tears rained onto the case.

_Yep, I'm definitely going to hell-_

"UWAH!"

But alas, Arakawa wasn't going to be sent to Hade's Den just yet as a giant submarine craft leapt out of the ocean.

The giant craft which was lined with steel panels and glowing lights looked more like something an alien would use for transportation. It was out of this world, especially evident to Arakawa and the confused clones when the three globes on the top began rolling toward them like eyes.

SPWOOSH. The sound of mutant Silpelits having their upper bodies consumed by an invisible force engulfed the area. Arakawa was still unsure what side this weird thing was on. But as the mysterious craft clenched its giant invisible fists into the remaining clones it was soon becoming clear that at least it wasn't on their side.

_"HEY PANTY GIRL GET IN!" __a_ loud human sounding voice came from the giant craft. Still shocked and confused, Arakawa instinctively followed the voice as a hatch opened revealing a human inside. "Hurry, you have the vaccine, don't you?"

Arakawa nodded as she clambered up the bar rungs and through the main hatch into the strange craft. "What the hell is this-"

Arakawa was cut off as the man threw off his cape and gave it to her. "Put it on. Though there's only guys here we won't do anything weird to you."

"Hah?" Arakawa groaned in complete confusion.

But the Operative continued his solemn words. "I guess in the chaos, you suffered a lot of hardships right?"

"What the heck are you talking about?' Arakawa's eyes narrowed as she tried to get her answers.

The thick eyebrows Operative cast a confused glare as he pulled back from the weird woman. "What, weren't you raped?"

"HUH BY WHO?" Arakawa dropped her fists to her sides in anger. "This is my regular clothing! Are you stupid?" Arakawa flew back insults to the man who had saved her. Well now that she actually took the time to notice there were a few other men on board piloting the craft. "Better yet what the hell is this thing!"

"Firstly; is that the vaccine?" the man answered the angry female scientist's question with another, "That is one of the reasons why we're here."

"No you answer me first!" Arakawa exclaimed. "Who are you guys anyway? How can I trust you wierdos?"

"Commander, I'm detecting a huge Diclonius signal ahead!" one of the pilots turned back to the Operative to relay their current status.

"Commander, there are more tremors ahead, Vector Craft will fall apart at this rate!" another one of the pilots stressed out more status reports.

"Never mind! Continue heading towards the main signal." The Commanding Operative waved out his hand as he gave the order.

"You still haven't answered-"

"Silence Panty Girl!" The Operative cut her off as he rushed over to the control panels. With his jaw dropped in astonishment he glanced out of the window, a confident grin rising. "Lucky me!" The man's grin widened even further when he stared at the lone Diclonius standing atop a sinking island. "Lucy!"

"Commander the Island is sinking! We have to retreat!"

"NO! Attack her now!" The Operative spat out his orders, determined to fulfil his primary objective – killing the Diclonii Queen.

"Its impossible! She's too far away!" The sweat was rapidly building up on the pilot's bodies as they were facing the greatest threat to mankind. "Vector signals are emitting from Lucy! Vectors are coming."

The bright tentacles of light began making their way toward the craft. "Oh no!" Arakawa began to lose all hope again; any more and she'd have to start keeping a tally.

"START THE VECTOR CANCELLOR!" With that order the pilots began pushing a sequence of buttons. Suddenly Lucy's vectors of pure light had disappeared.

"AMAZING!" Arakawa beamed in rejoice. "How did you do that?"

"This is a Vector Craft." The Operative explained in his victorious tone. "By enlarging the organs which generate vectors we can produce long-range vectors. In addition, by using vectors with an inverse phase, we can cancel out Lucy's vectors." The Operative began laughing quite sadistically as he revealed the implications of this vector generating device. **"The Vector Craft I built is invisible; Lucy is just a little girl and nothing more."**

"COMANDER LUCY'S MOVING TOWARDS OUR POSITION!" The pilots quickly reported the alarming turn of events.

"Impossible! She shouldn't be able to use her vectors!" The man noticed the angel of death gliding down the sinking building as she pushed her vectors against the water, creating a huge valley of water as she flew towards the Vector Craft at breakneck speed.

"COMMANDER WE MUST RETREAT!"

"SHE'S TOO FAST"

"Restart the vector canceller!" The Operative leaned in closer concentrating his efforts into defeating this 'little girl'. As the vector shield lit up again Lucy continued her advance without a slight diversion or decrease in speed. "What is she doing?"

Arakawa could see the bone crunching determination in Lucy's eyes as she thrust towards them, with just a few metres until she reached the craft, just like switching off a light, Lucy turned of all her vectors, her body's momentum floating her across the air as she held out her leg in a supersonic flying kick against the eye shaped window of the craft.

"OH MY GOD!" The Vector Craft Pilots entered a panic as their enemy was inside the very craft which was meant to impenetrable for her. Lucy didn't give a moments notice as she slayed all three pilots in an instant by slicing off their heads.

"K-K-K-Ku" The Operative backed himself into a wall, hiding his complete fear under a crude smile. His hand crawled down his pocket as he lifted out a small gun. "DI-" Lucy's grabbed his hand and with her extra limbs bent his entire forearm until it broke off from the elbow. "GAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHH!" The Operative squealed in agony as he held down the legged bone protruding from his elbow. "LUCY I"LLLLL-"

SQUELCH. Only silence came from the Operative's trachea as it was ripped out of his neck. The windpipe organ worming onto the ground at a frightened Arakawa's feet.

_Oh God this can't be happening! That man said the Vector Craft was invisible. I swear this is the last time I get fooled by a man...But wait, I'm really about to die for real...Oh God have mercy on my soul!_

The awakened beast that was Lucy glanced down at the cowering Arakawa. Her expression hardened as she noticed she was clutching something in her arms.

_No she knows I have the vaccine...She want to kill me and destroy the vaccine...My whole life has been pointless to the very end..._

Arakawa wailed much like a child of younger age as she stared into Lucy's cold eyes. "MAMA...PAPA...DID I MAKE YOU PROUD?"

SPLOOSH...

_..._

THE NEXT MORNING:

"Kouta...How much longer are you going to keep me waiting?" Yuka prayed that she would see Kouta's eyes open once again. She brought some flowers to leave by Kouta's bedside.

As she made neared Kouta's ward she wrenched open the door handle with a sigh. "Good Morning Ko-"

The room was bare, with an open window allowing a whistling breeze to brush past the silk curtains...Yuka dropped the flowers, the colourful petals and pollen flying across the room as she dropped to her knees – jaw dropped and eyes widened.

"No...Kouta...where'd you go...?"

_…_

Tiny waves splashed across the beach as the current brought in a large white pod-like container. Rubbish almost always anchored itself on this beach, but such a large item would have otherwise raised irksome attention for anyone straying across the sandy strip along Kamakura's shoreline.

The white pod released several high pressurised jets of steam as the door slowly opened. The mermaid emerged from her cocoon onto the sandy carpet which awaited her maiden arrival.

**_"Do you still believe those humans will accept you after witnessing your true nature? Do you still think their inferior society will allow a murderer of their kind to simply return to live a 'normal life'?"_**

"*Sniff*-Ungh." Lucy's eyes filled with bittersweet tears. For once she could claim to be free; her will intact – no longer under the influence of Nyu, and liberated from the island prison which she had been held captive for most of her life. Yet her freedom seemed all in vain, for she could no longer spend it with the person she loved.

_Kouta...I need to know...What is my purpose for existing in this world? Was I truly born just so I could wipe out the human race? I thought I found my answer when I met you...But now that you're gone..._

Lucy grit her teeth as she wiped the burning tears away from her eyes. _I'm really afraid of myself...I don't want to kill anymore but-_

_"It sure has been a while..." _Lucy was drawn towards a weak voice calling from the shadows of the concrete wall. _"I've been waiting a long time to speak to you again."_

Lucy's eyes widened with complete and utter shock as the one she thought had been taken away from her had appeared right before her tear-filled vision. "Kouta?"

* * *

><p><strong>Elfen Lied: The Second Verse <strong>- Episode 11 Preview

_"Why didn't you fulfil my promise?"_

_"We can no longer intercept them."_

"_Kouta, please be alright."_

_"Now my Angels...Begin your flight to the heavens!"_

_"No fucking way? Bw-Bwehe-Bwaha-BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"_

As the Queen returns to her beloved knight, the procession of death continues as the demons we try to keep beneath our feet rise against the very heavens. Is Lucy truly free from Kakuzawa's grasp just yet? find out in the next dramatic installment of _Elfen Lied: The Second Verse_...


	11. Episode 11: Flucht

**I hope you, my six subscribers are as excited as I am about the latest chapter. We're throwing the Manga (Book) out the window as we reach the final stages of the Anime's Second Season. With an original ending in sight, I hope you'll all be biting your fingernails when Kakuzawa's new plot is finally revealed. Needless to say, I hope you all enjoy the Eleventh Episode of _Elfen Lied: The Second Verse..._**

Track 11 - Playlist

Chrono Crusade OST 1 – A Cool Headed Smile

John Phillip Sousa – Stars and Stripes Forever

Elfen Lied OST – Yureai

Alien Trilogy OST – BGM 12

E.S Posthumus - Pompeii

E Nomine – Anderwelt (Laterna Magica)

Bleach Movie 2 OST – Feudal Society

Berserk - Ghost

* * *

><p><strong><strong>Track 11: Flucht (飛翔): Flight<br>****

_~I'll be waiting, even if Kouta goes far away...I'll keep on waiting._

_So please don't forget about me!~_

_…_

As the light slowly diminished under the metal roller blinds Kakuzawa's assistant came into the darkened room. "Mr. Director, the preparations are complete; we're ready to go."

As the Director rolled the small device in his right hand he took one last glance at the fading panorama before him. "Good, then all that's left is..."

CLICK...

"Now my Angels...Begin your flight to the heavens!"

…

NEAR THE EPICENTRE OF THE SUNKEN ISLAND:

A smelly, wet, dirty and now completely pantless woman roused from her groggy slumber._ "_Ugh_...God _I smell like rotten tuna..." She grabbed a piece of air around her face to pretend she were adjusting some phantom glasses. "I thought I'd have some wings and some clean clothes by now..." she said in her dreary state. The bobbing motion of the ground did not provide the ragged young woman with any further relief, the floating sensation was not the kind she had expected either. "Why I do I feel even more terrible than when I left that damn world?" she continued groaning to herself. Suddenly she found what she was truly after – shining like an Anglerfish's lure...So bright and beautiful, she just wanted to reach out and touch it. Lunging out her arms, she tried to snatch it, the light at the end of the long and arduous tunnel. Once she grasped the tether of light, she would be liberated from this swelling aether of the astral river and be taken – express style - to the great old man's door.

Like a kitten reaching for a mouse, she pounced into the light.

"Hello? Are you okay ma'am?" a crackling voice of an older teenager with a delayed case of puberty called out to her.

"Hah?" And much like the kitten she was emulating, she cocked her head and lowered her paw to one side.

"U~m...Captain, should we let her on?" As the divine light dimmed away rapidly, the woman noticed the strange angels standing high over her, donning blue and white garbs much unlike the ones the brochure would have otherwise led her to believe. Maybe heaven personalised its appearance for each member?

If so, she didn't remember ever having an odd attraction to cabana boys that much.

"What are you asking me for nincompoop; of course we let 'er on! Christ, what do they teach you cadets these days?" A much more gruff and certainly not gentle or warm voice called down from the divine platform – which resembled something like the deck of a large battleship. Heaven was getting weirder by the second... "Well ma'am, are you coming on board? Ma'am!"

_Who's this 'ma'am' they're talking to? My name's Professor Arakawa..._"I'm sorry, but I think I may have reached the wrong one."

The wrinkles in the disgruntled captain's forehead scrunched as he leaned over the deck, "Are you really alright there ma'am?"

The half naked woman twiddled her fingers as she tried explaining herself, "No...well, you see...I was meant to be going to heaven...But uh..."

The captain and his pock-marked subordinate both stared into each other with equally confusing glares as they began whispering quite loudly to each other. _"Captain, I think those monsters may have probed her brain or something."_

The Captain sighed in his frustration, _"Well she doesn't look injured; I think there's just a minor communication barrier goin' on here."_With his aging face contorting into an awkward smile he furled the thickly roped ladder which was hanging down the bow of the large ship. "Ma'am, could you possibly climb aboard?"

"What's the meaning of this? Is this, like, 'second class' or something?" the brunette scientist continued grumbling in her crazed manner as she lifted one leg onto the ship.

"Oh for the love of God... Here!" The buzzcut commander held out a towel for the scientist.

"H-hey, what's the big deal? I mean we're all dead right?" She grinned quite suggestively as she kept pursuing this hopeless thread of reality.

Now that she was on-board The Afterlife Cruise she noticed more of the sailor uniformed Angels (and not the good kind either!) were gawking and gazing at her body as if she were a unique specimen of some sort. The pock-marked cadet whispered in his commander's ear as he nodded several times.

With two strides the captain whispered in his thick accent, "Ma'am, I feel I should inform you now that you're on board a US Navy Ship and your entire parade is visible to all our cadets."

Arakawa froze up as she finally awoke to her senses. The sky was blue and the sea was at her feet, she was still alive and she was very much in the same attire – if not much less, than before.

Cringing as she slowly drew her eyes down towards her military bonanza, realising her leg hung awkwardly onto the ship with her other stretched back on the final rung, she began feeling the tears of shame well in her eyes as she wailed like a child much less a fraction of her age. "WWWAAAAAGGGHHHHH!"

…

"So...I can finally speak to the girl from eight years ago..." Kouta was now confronted with the girl who had transformed so much of his life – for both the better and for so much more, the worst.

"Kouta, y-you're alive?" Lucy crept forward wanting to hold the precious boy she held so much of her heart onto.

"Please don't touch me!" Kouta lashed out with an arm, striking surprise in the pink haired girl. "Why didn't you fulfil my promise?"

"Kouta?" Lucy's tears of joy were beginning to muddle with tears of confusion. It was then she noticed the fresh splotches of blood soaking into the sand by Kouta's side. "Oh God you're bleeding!"

Strangely, Kouta chuckled lightly as he rested his head against the wall. "You're looking pretty worse for wear yourself."

"Nani?" Lucy rolled her eyes down to her wounded left shoulder, catching the slight crowning of bone nestled amongst the layers of exposed flesh; a short shift of the eyes down revealed the large exposed wound to her left ribcage as well. After regarding the quite serious injuries Lucy turned back to Kouta, "I don't care about that, I'm just glad you're okay, Kouta."

"Ungh..." Kouta grunted weekly as he forced himself onto his feet, using the wall for support. "I've been waiting six more months for this..." Kouta said shuffling his feet slowly along the sand. "There's a place I'd like to show you first." But before Kouta could guide Lucy anywhere he collapsed forward.

"KOUTA!" Lucy finally reached over and picked up the unconscious Kouta, lifting him onto her back. She sucked her teeth at first when Kouta's limp arm pressed onto her wounded shoulder but she would bear the pain – much like Kouta had to bear the pain of those he had lost...at her very hands.

The sight of a naked girl with horns giving an unconscious young man a piggy-back ride would have raised a few odd stares from the public, and it was no surprise that Lucy felt quite uncomfortable walking along Kamakura's wide and open promenades; but even as she caught each of their glares: some of disgust, others of hate or scorn, she believed that she could endure it all...so long as she felt his warm embrace around her body.

_Strange, I've never been this close to Kouta before...It makes me a little happy...But yet, he seemed so cold back on that beach...I don't know if he will ever forgive me now...But-_

"Up there..." Kouta's slurry voice took over Lucy's clouded thoughts. Her eyes widened as she realised where she was taking Kouta; it would be a fitting place to have their final proper discussion.

…

On board the giant battle cruiser, one of the more decorated officers on board was in the middle of communicating via video link with his colonel. "...And we're yet to obtain any solid data from the Saseba company."

_"#No matter...#"_the Colonel formed his hands into a pyramid just below his falcon eyes. _"#Your fleet will be taking over salvage operations from here.#"_

"Has the Japanese Fleet been informed?" the Naval Commander inquired.

_"#The Japanese Fleet is no longer viable,#"_the Colonel responded bluntly. _"#Two of their ships were reported to have capsized last night, and a third ship was also towed back to shore and is undergoing emergency repairs; the Japanese 'Fleet' is currently down to only one frigate.#"_

"I see..Then we will carry out the mission from here, colonel." The Naval Commander saluted his superior back at base.

"What's up with this place? And why do you guys sound so funny?" an ironically odd voice came into the room.

On that note, the Colonel wrapped up his briefing _"#Well good luck and report your findings back to me as soon as possible.#" _before the video-link was terminated.

"Commander, we believe this lady might be one of the facility's researchers." The Captain introduced Arakawa to the Naval Commander.

Arakawa noticed the Commander's short-cropped blonde hair and blue eyes. "Ahh...So what're you Yanks doing here?"

"Watch your tongue! You're speaking to our ship's commander!" The Captain grew tired of the young scientist's informal tone.

"Calm down," the Naval Commander gestured peacefully. "You obviously appear to be an intelligent young woman, Miss..."

_"__Doctor _Arakawa thank you." Miss Arakawa pounded her bouncy chest in pride.

The Naval Commander smiled as he continued buttering up to the 'Doctor'. "Doctor, we understand the facility you have been working for has been developing some sort of bio-weaponry. We'd really appreciate your cooperation for the time being."

"Hah?"Arakawa honked loudly. "I don't know of any bio-weaponry! I was just supposed to develop the virus for 'em, that's all."

"So you're the one in charge of the virus?" the Captain came into the fray with his own brand of interrogation.

"Yikes!" Arakawa bit her tongue when she realised the implications of her words. _What have I just leaked out to these guys? Now I'm surely going to be punished – or worse! What if they want_ me _to manufacture another virus for themselves! Or perhaps even worse; they could do what those sailors did in that movie I saw those two interns watching last week... _"Um-uh well-er ah you see what I really meant was-"

"Commander, we managed to recover this from the vessel as well." One of the petty officers brought into the room a large case with a strap attached to it.

"My vaccine!" Arakawa beamed in excitement when she saw her prized project still intact. _So Lucy mustn't have destroyed the vaccine._ _But if that's the case, why didn't she?_

"So you also developed a vaccine for the virus?" The Commander came over to observe the case.

"That's correct." Arakawa spoke more politely this time as she walked over with her arms out ready to hug her baby.

But this mother would be denied her child as the Captain snatched the vaccine from the petty officer. "Our scientists will analyse the contents of this case."

"Hey wait just a minute!" Arakawa snapped. She swung out her arms in a fit of rage but the Commander and officer held back the wild Japanese woman. "You can't treat me like this! I have a Bachelor Degree in Science!"

"Take her away," the Captain called out as he was about to depart the room.

"Do you have any idea what I went through to keep that safe!" Arakawa continued howling in defiance, kicking and screaming as she was being dragged out of the room. "YOU CAN'T TAKE MY BABY AWAY! IT'S MINE! IT'S...MY...PREEEEESSSSCCCCIOUUUUUS!"

**SSSSSSHHHHWWWWOOOO...**

"KYAH! What was that?" Arakawa suddenly felt the earth (deck) tremble at her feet much like before as the two men restraining her let go.

The dozen or so men at the control boards began pressing more of the chequerboard of buttons rapidly trying to identify the source of the large tremor. "Impossible!"

"What was it?" the Captain demanded, leaning onto one of the control panels.

The copious amounts of sweat and shaking heads of the officers already gave some indication of the grandiose scale of what they were now facing. "A missile..."

"WHAT!" The Captain nearly fell backwards, his old legs already undergoing enough physical toil over the years. "Kakuzawa was hiding a missile under the Island?"

"I'm afraid so..." the nearest officer shook his head, wishing it all weren't true.

"How come we never detected this?" The Captain slammed his fist against the desk. "Shit..." The Captain cursed as he turned back to his more composed commander. "Sir, do we..."

"Hang on, I'm reporting this to the Colonel right now!" The Commander pressed a few buttons, lighting up the large screen in the middle of the room. "Colonel...A missile launch has been detected on the Island."

_"#I've already received several reports from the other commanders.#"_ The Colonel remained reserved as well, his hands formed in fists resting on the table. _"#We're going to intercept it.#"_

"A good decision Colonel," the Naval Commander sighed with some relief.

_"#Kakuzawa will pay the due consequences for this act of warfare#," _the Colonel added as the officers brought up the American missile on the radar.

"The missiles should intercept in thirty seconds." The navigation room was silent as everyone waited.

Arakawa shuffled her legs nervously, gripping the towel around her waist. "Oh God...I thought that old geezer couldn't get any more evil, but now..."

"Nineteen seconds!"

"We still haven't determined whether it is a nuclear missile or not," the Commander mentioned as the seconds slowly wound down.

"Fifteen seconds!"

The Captain still cursed their underestimating of Kakuzawa. "Our radar systems should have picked this one up; how was it able to avoid detection dammit!"

"Ten seconds."

Now everyone on board the ship, as well as the remaining Fleet contingent, were biting their fingernails. They had trained countless times for a situation like this; yet now that they were experiencing the real thing, they hadn't fathomed the enormous pressure they would now posses in this vital moment.

"Six seconds...five seconds...four...three-"

The countdown abruptly stopped.

"Wait what's happened?" One of the junior officers observed the sudden change in signal.

Another officer came over to inspect. "Kakuzawa's missile just disappeared..."

"What!" The Captain came over to check for himself. "It collapsed?"

"Intercepting missile has missed the target - we can no longer intercept it." Another officer quickly reported. "Intercepting missile will now self-destruct."

Another alarming report came from another officer. "Sir, our Intel is telling us that Kakuzawa's missile has split into a large number of fragments."

"Split? You mean like-"

"It was engineered to break up..." The Commander interjected with a grave tone.

"Impossible! Why would he destroy his own missile?" The Captain retorted in his sweated frustration.

"I think I might now why..." Arakawa suddenly entered the situation with an expression which spelt utter despair.

"Dear God..." The Captain stammered, "Just what in God's name are we dealing with here?"

…

It stood proudly over the shoreline; a tall spire structure, at least three or four stories high. But when standing at its feet seemed quite foreboding with its narrow, wind-exposed stairwell.

After using her vectors to snap open the lock, Lucy took Kouta up the long ascent of stairs until they reached what awaited them on top. Lucy was awestruck by the panoramic view of Kamakura once she reached the top. She could feel the crisp ocean air whipping against her face, the faint salt crystals brushing along her majestic pink locks. "So this was the place you wanted to show me-?"

Lucy was surprised to feel Kouta's arms wrap around her from behind, "Let's get away from here...Let's run away from them all..."

"K-Kouta?" Lucy's tears were swinging between hope and despair. Was she just hearing what she wanted to hear? Or were those Kouta's words at that point? She had to find out to make sure. "Kouta...don't you know what I did to your family?"

"I know that Goddamit!" And she could tell he was truly speaking from his heart as the tears came gushing from the boy soaking her shoulders as they streamed down her breasts. "How can I forget what you did to Kanae and my Father? How can I forget what I witnessed the other night? Of course I know what you really are...But I'm...I'm just so..."

Lucy placed her hand on Kouta's arm as she sobbed onto his sleeve. "Please Kouta, I don't need you to forgive me..." She continued her apology through heavy sobs. "I have hurt so many people now, I just want it all to end."

"Then let's make it end – together!" Lucy felt her body turn around as she now came across Kouta's lips, her eyes widened as she felt his cool lips join with hers. As he held her wrists, Lucy gave in to the moment as she let her arms slide down, locking her fingers with his. Finally she closed her eyes, imaging this moment could last for a thousand more eternities. If it wasn't from the throbbing pain in her shoulder she would have dismissed this union as another hopeless fantasy. But here she was, after breaking free of her nightmare, after leaving a trail of blood and a path laid out with limbs, organs and flesh, her lips finally wed with the one she loved.

There was no need for words to describe his latent feelings for her at that point, this spontaneous gesture of raw affection would suffice for the otherwise plain young man.

"Kouta..." Lucy moaned out his name as she pulled back from his lips. The pain from her battles seemed to wane in that brief moment of pleasure.

"I truly had a lot of things I had to get off my chest ever since you disappeared that night all those months ago." Kouta kept his hands by Lucy's arms as he gazed into her eyes, "I wanted to know more about those who were after you, why you were being pursued, what you had done to deserve such treatment. But I also wanted to know more about why you became so cold towards humans, why you really had to kill all those people, including my own sister and father, and why you continued killing people up to this day...But..." Kouta lowered his head, panting as he held onto Lucy for support. "Throughout it all, I realised that I really didn't want to know the answers to all those things...Because when you came back that day...When I finally saw Nyu's peaceful, carefree smile again...All I really wanted to know deep down, was how long I could stay with you."

Lucy paused, shocked and blown away by Kouta's feelings for her. But she began to feel that she really didn't deserve this side of Kouta. So she averted her gaze when she spoke. "But how can you put aside the fact that I'm a monster who kills humans?"

"I know dammit," Kouta looked down, doubting his own self. "I feel so ashamed to admit this...But I've always loved you, ever since we met as kids, ever since I met Nyu on the shore what was barely a year ago...I know you're a killer, yet my heart has always told me that-"

"Thanks Kouta..." Lucy took one of Kouta's hands as she rested it against her bare chest. "I want you to know that my heart has always told me you're the one as well."

"Mmm..." Kouta's smile suddenly contorted into pain as he clutched his wounded chest. "Urgh."

"Kouta!" Lucy cried out his name as she caught him in her arms. "We have to get you back to the hospital!" Lucy's moment of joy had now reverted back to urgent fear. She held Kouta as she lowered down to her knees

"Hey...Do you remember that promise I wanted you to keep?" Kouta forced a grin as he fell to one knee. "Please don't forget it..." Kouta's eyes began fluttering as he slumped forward against Lucy's chest.

"Okay, Kouta I'll make sure to keep that promise, but you have to let me take you to a hospital...Hey Kouta..." Lucy smiled behind her tears of oncoming despair as she began cradling the young man in her arms. "Hey Kouta! Please wake up! KOUTA PLEASE DON'T GO!"

"Such terrible injuries...I'm quite amazed he made it for this long." Lucy seethed as anger soon flooded her veins. As the steel stairs tapped with each oncoming step, she scowled towards the aging voice that was coming towards her. "What a poor confused human...At least he shall perish before the rest of his kind." And as the suited old figure reached the rooftop standing before her with his ridged facial features, she knew she would have to break that promise one more time.

And as the depraved old schemer produced a small gun aimed at the two of them, he bellowed out to his Goddess with a toothy smile.**"Lucy, you're finally mine!"**

_…_

"All set Mr. Bandou!" Mio chirped as she made a mock salute to her commanding officer. The giant S.A.T. hardman simply jerked his head away in as he burned into another cigarette.

"Well it took you three long enough..." Bandou noticed the army of weaponry spread out before him, possibly enough to take over a small country like Kyrgyzstan. "Well then, I'll take it from here."

"Nana's fighting Lucy too!" The horned warrior stepped forward reminding the commando of her own intentions.

"Yeah-yeah, do whatever the hell you like..."

"Mayu wants to come too!" The petite young girl came over to her giant's side.

"Gah, no! You guys already paid my debt, now just go along and play somewhere else now." But just before Bandou could decide which weapons he would dress himself in, Nana glanced over the ledge which was overlooking Kamakura's shoreline.

"Oh no...this can't be happening..."

"Hah? What's up your arse now Missy?" Bandou strolled over the the ledge with an M60 and rocket launcher in each arm. When he glanced at the sight that was unfolding along the tiny strip of shoreline he threw down his weapons, his cigarette falling out of his mouth and his shades lowering until they barely hung onto his nose.

And as the flock of hundreds upon hundred of large pearls beached themselves on shore, cracking their shells to reveal the pink haired Sirens nestled inside, Bandou collapsed forward. Mayu rushed over believing he had fainted, but when she noticed his shoulders heaving rapidly and bulging she knew what was coming.

"No fucking way...**Bw-Bwehe-Bwaha-BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"**

* * *

><p><strong>Elfen Lied: The Second Verse - <strong>Episode 12 Preview

_"Together, you and I can eradicate the human stain from this planet."_

_"#Diclonii have been sighted in Osaka, Hiroshima, Hakata Bay, Shimabura Peninsula and Kagoshima_#"

**"BWAHAHAHAHAHA!"**

_"#We've just recieved reports from Shanghai...#"_

_"Kouta...no...**NOOOOOOOOO!**"_

The final die is cast as the war between the old and new homo sapiens begins. As new powers enter the cauldron of destruction, will total annihilation be the inevitable outcome for us all?** Don't miss the next climactic episode of _Elfen Lied: The Second Verse!_  
><strong>


	12. Episode 12: Blut

**Well thanks for waiting patiently while there have been some delays to the programming schedule. We can now broadcast to you the second last episode of Elfen Lied's Second Season...  
><strong>

**By the way, good thing I went back and fixed up a subtle but very silly error in the last chapter. If you didn't find it then good, you need not worry about it anymore. I figured I'd kept you poor sods waiting long enough, so as a birthday treat _I'm_ giving _you _the latest chapter to enjoy...There's a scene in this chapter you'll either find funny or annoying but other than that, let's all shut up, sit back in our spinny chairs, listen to our epic playlist (brought to you this week exclusively by Sagiru-san!) and enjoy the second last installment of _Elfen Lied: The Second Verse..._  
><strong>

Track 12 - Playlist_  
><em>

Bleach Movie 3 OST – Fade to Black_A02

Rebuild of Evangelion 1.0 OST – EMO5A#070720

Rebuild of Evangelion 2.0 OST – 2EM15_0938

Rebuild of Evangelion 2.0 OST – 2EM31_0948

Bleach Movie 3 OST – Fade to Black_B07A

Bleach OST 4 – Power to Strive

Rebuild of Evangelion 1.0 OST – EM21_Premix#070705

Bleach OST 3 – Princess in Captivity

Bleach Movie 3 OST – Suite 'Never Meant to Belong' 2nd Movement: Cello & Orchestra

**Track 12: Blut (血液): Blood  
><strong>

_~Finally I could meet..._

_...The friend I've always wanted to meet~_

_..._

KAMISHIJOCHO – 20KM EAST OF OSAKA:

Mr Furodo was packing his harvest into the truck about to make his way to the town markets when he heard several loud explosions coming from the mountains. Dust and smoke could be seen from the forest's edge.

"Hmm? Was it a satellite perhaps?" Curious, the middle-aged farmer made the short walk away from his paddock towards the forest. His farm was among a community of farms on the fringe of the greater metropolitan area of Osaka. A peaceful village this place was, just on the foot of an urban hive, thriving with many human souls.

Furodo didn't need to venture to deep into the forest before he found a mysterious object nestled in a fresh crater in the ground. The earth was scorched within the lip of the crater; in the centre was something that could only be described as a white coffin, only it was smooth and made of steel. "What's this?" Furudo asked himself.

He was suddenly answered as several high pressured jets of steam shot out of the door of the coffin. The steam clouded Furodo's vision as the door opened, a shadow figure emerging from the coffin like a fly escaping a Venus Fly Trap. "My God...A-re you okay?" Furodo called out to the figure.

When the steam faded away, a slender naked woman was revealed inside. Her hair was pink, tied back and held underneath her white veil which concealed her entire face except for two almond shaped slits for her eyes to see through.

_Her body is so beautiful...She's like an Angel..._"Excuse me young lady but-"

SSHHHLLIRCH. Furodo would be one of the first casualties of the Diclonii war. His severed head bouncing along the ground as the Diclonii began her long walk towards the city, her vectors ready to unleash the apocalypse on the foolish humans.

...

JISHANWEIZHEN ON THE SHORE OF HANGZHOU BAY – 50KM SOUTH OF SHANGHAI:

Even on a very mild winter's day, the local beach was still attracting large swathes of the population. A number of children ran back on shore, quite excited to inform their parents of the 'Pink-haired mermaids' in the water. One boy rushed over to his mother tugging at her dress with amazement.

'Māmā! Nǐ kàn zài fěnhóng sè tóufǎ dì měirén yú!'**(SUB: Mama! look at the pink haired mermaids!)**

The boy's mother went over with a few other parents as they began to notice a number of pale-skinned naked girls rising from the ocean's depths. 'Dìqiú shàng suǒyǒu zhèxiē fùnǚ zài zuò shénme ne?'**(SUB: What on earth are all these women doing?)**

Too mesmerised to flee, the mothers remained frozen in their glares at these mysterious women who had emerged from the ocean. 'Tāmen kěndìng bùshì zhōngguó rén! ' **(SUB: They are certainly not Chinese!) **another woman observed.

By now more citizens had gathered on the beach, awe-struck by these masked beauties. 'Qiáo! Qiáo! Pāizhào!'**(SUB: Look! Look! Take a picture!)**

The exuberant young boy ran back down the beach so he could say hello to the pretty walking mermaids. The boy waved a hand as he greeted the visitors. 'Nǐ hǎo!' **(SUB: Hello!)**

But the poor young child would find his waving arm had now fallen off, cleanly shaven from his body. Before he could even express his shock, his head was smashed much like a watermelon on the beach.

As the boys flesh rained down onto the damp sand at his mother's own feet, her eyed widened with shock. 'AAAGGGGHHHH!-!-!-!-!-!-!' The distraught mother was quickly sent out of this world, with her body sliced in two, she would join her son amongst the already rising body count

Suddenly the masses began sprawling away from the beach as the masked mermaids continued their advance onto the mainland. After the third body was claimed, people lost count as they scrambled in their panic. There were several dozen of these 'mermaids' of death, but they were making easy pickings of the thousands of onlookers just beyond the bounds of the sandy shore.

Through all the chaos, one odd looking individual stood out from the crowd. The white haired beady eyed foreigner simply stood like a confused chicken throughout the hysteria. When he was finally surrounded by five or more of the pink-haired mer-monsters he gulped, loosening his collar as he tipped his black framed specs. 'De jiàng píng duìyǒu de gōngpíng dàiyù...'**(SUB: Fair shake of the sauce bottle mate...)**

_…_

SASEBA ROUND TABLE EMERGENCY CONFERENCE:

"What?" One of the senior executive officers of the research facility slammed his clammy fist on the table. "Kakuzawa has unleashed the Diclonii onto Japan?"

"It seems his research facility had been manufacturing military grade weaponry under our noses as well chief." One of the younger execs held a ream of paper in one hand as he adjusts his thick lenses with another, "It seems he's taken our two facilities' proxy war into open hostilities with the general public."

"We should have kept a noose around that man's head the moment he wanted to separate our research divisions..." The chief director of Saseba wiped the dripping sweat from his forehead. Though quite overweight, it was the humidity of the situation rather than the room itself which was causing him and everyone else at the conference meeting to become drenched in anxiety. "How many of our units do we still have left?"

"Just those from our second shipment sir," a young female adviser answered as she tapped away on her laptop.

"Then our next problem is how are the Americans going to respond," The Saseba chief director groaned as he contemplated the worst of those possible responses. He gave a wry smile, "Well this ought to be fun..."

_…_

CAMP ASAKA:

"Kakuzawa's facility has launched an unknown weapon into the atmosphere," the USFJ Colonel began his debriefing with the military commanders, "We are yet to receive intel on what type of material may have been inside this weapon, but we are well aware of his intentions to wage a holy war on human civilization...therefore we can so far conclude that he has possibly unleashed a virus into the atmosphere in an act of bio-terrorism."

"Colonel, our fleet did indicate that there were an undisclosed number of humanoid clones underneath the facility..." One of the high-ranking officers reported.

"But if the entire island sunk, those clones would have been wiped out with the island." An older commander possessing some additional ego interjected. "So we can surely rule out a Diclonius invasion."

"Then how do we respond Colonel?"

The Colonel webbed his fingers together in to a pyramid as he considered his options at the moment. "If it is a viral weapon, then an infantry invasion is out of the option."

"Wait a minute!" One of the Saseba representatives finally spoke out. "How can you have even considered a land invasion for a moment there?"

"We won't be issuing that order." Another American commander reassured the Japanese spokesperson. "At this point, containment is our number one priority."

"Please allow our Self-Defense forces to handle this matter for now." The other Saseba representative pleaded with the US military elites. "It could become a very ugly situation if you made yourselves involved any further in this matter."

"Very well..." The commander lowered his head behind his hand pyramid. "We will see how your domestic forces can handle the situation."

_…_

BACK ON ENOSHIMA BEACH:

"DIE MOTHERFUCKING HORNED-FREAKS DIE! BWAHAHAHAHA!" Bando torched his way through another row of Diclonii clones, emptying his flamethrower canister before a wall of scorched bodies before throwing down the weapon and bringing out his M60. "BWAHAHAHA!" TA-TA-TA-TA-TA-TA-TA-TA-TA! The sound of rapid fire machine guns was like Christmas bells for the SAT hardman. "Come on you damned horned bitches! This ain't fun unless you fight back!"

He would soon be on the evasive as he dodged a rogue vector slamming onto the beach. "Swup! Nearly got me ya sneaky bugger." He pulled out an explosive shotgun and blew apart that masked Diclonii's cranium, sending a broken Easter egg of brain innards across the once clean bleach.

"Bandou-san! Here's another round of ammunition!" Mayu slid down the hill onto the beach carrying a whole bandoleer in her tiny arms.

"Thanks kid! Now get the hell back now!" Bandou grabbed the bandoleer and draped it around his shoulder before connecting it to his M60. "Here's the next wave ladies!"

"This is almost too real to believe..." Mio was panting from watching the one man war unfold. Caught between fear and excitement. As the yellow sand was becoming dyed a crimson hue she tugged at her hair to make sure what was unfolding before her big-round eyes was in fact not just some game conjured up by a psychopathic nerd. "I take back all those bad things I said about that man...He's the freaking terminator Mayu-chan!"

"Stay back..." Nana guarded the two human girls back on the grassy hill. "That man is no ordinary human after all..."

And as the human terminator hailed out another chain of bullets from his M60, the spark from each firing round flashed light against his face, revealing the many ridges and valleys of this brutal warriors iron face. "FUCK YEAAAAAAHHHHHHH!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!"

…

BACK ON BOARD THE STARS AND STRIPES FLEET:

"Have we got visual for the coastline?" The naval commander leaned onto the control board, looking out towards the thin strip of coastline from just a few miles offshore.

"It appears there are a number of Diclonius engaged on Enoshima Beach commander." One of the control onboard officers answered his superior with deft urgency.

"Diclonius!-?" The commander felt his heart skip a few beats on the calling of that word. "There are Diclonius on the mainland!-?"

Another nearby control board officer relayed the true scale if the current situation they were facing. "Commander, Diclonii have been sighted in Osaka, Hiroshima, Hakata Bay, Shimabura Peninsula and Kagoshima."

"Impossible..." Arakawa reflected her own disbelief and fear.

"You mean that missile was in fact a transport vessel for those Diclonii?" The commander's captain adviser slammed his fist on the control board, cursing his own grave miscalculation. Ms. Arakawa... The sweat-skinned Captain turned back to the Diclonii researcher. "Care to explain what in hell Kakuzawa is planning here...?"

Arakawa gulped as she realised the old slimeball's true intention was after all. And her tone could not be more dead to the point than ever before. "He's planning a full-scale war on humanity..."

"My dear God..." The Captain sunk back, leaning against the control board. "He really is unleashing the Second Lebensborn project isn't he?"

And in confirming the scale of Kakuzawa's Second Wave of Lebensborn, a young female cadet was the one to relay the truly daunting news. "We've just received reports from Shanghai..."

_…_

**"Kakuzawa..." **Lucy's voice crawled with true hatred at the utterance of that man's name. As she cradled Kouta's unconscious body, she wished she could just unleash all her hands and crush his bones into powder at that very moment.

"You should be happy my dear Lucy!" Kakuzawa beamed as he waved around his pistol. "We are finally waging the final battle of our thousand year struggle against the human tyrants!" The wrinkles on his face wriggled like a hundred worms as he laughed. "Soon our angels will spread their wings across Japan, spawning our holy eggs into the human vessels and ushering in our second generation...Then they too will spread their wings across the continent...China, India the two largest nurseries for our third wave...They will fly across Eurasia and Africa, Australia and finally the America's...In a mere five generations, the entire world will reside within our many hands!" Kakuzawa held out his hand like a holy chalice as though prophesying God's very will. Then he held out his chalice to his fellow Queen, holding the gun with other hand. **"Together, you and I can eradicate the human stain from this planet...You and I will be the divine monarchs of our new human race..."**

_…_

SPLOTCH. SPLURCH. SPLATTER. As another horned head fell down another three seemed to emerge from the waters. "Come on! I've still got plenty of gifts left for ya!" Discarding his empty bandoleer, the giga-commando chewed through another whole magazine of M60 rounds, cutting through the clones faceless bodies like melted butter. Even a few long range vectors were not enough to deter this living machine, rolling and ducking out of each shift in the wind – he could finally 'see' their deadly hands, crouching out of a military roll, Bandou plucked a grenade from his jacket, biting off the pin with his teeth before lobbing the explosive in a bunched-up group of Diclonii clones. He quickly followed that little piece of fireworks with a gas canister, skipping it along the hardened sand near the edge of the shore as it raised a cloud of smoky fog. The agitated Diclonii cut their hands through the smoke cloud sweeping away the haze only to find it was already too late...

Bandou had crouched down and hurled a large tubed weapon over his shoulder. With the mini rocket slid in place, a large grin crept up the one man army's lips as he mouthed a countdown. "Come on you suckers, three...two...one..."

SWHOOO...

BOOOOOOM!-!-!-!

A cloud of fire erupted on the tiny shoreline as limbs and scraps of fried meat flew across the beach in a hail of blood and gore. **"BWAHAHAHAHAHA! I'M THE FRIGGIN' MAN, BITCH!"**

Mio was speechless...Mayu was throwing up...Nana was simply shaking her head with a palm to her face. "I don't know who I'm more afraid of now...Bandou or Lucy..."

With the beach well and truly 'cleaned' of Diclonius. Bando threw down all his heavy weaponry, pulling out just a simple (and his personal favourite) tungsten 9mm. "So now that just leaves one little stray sheep in this herd..."

_…_

"Ugh..." Kouta groggily opened his eyes, he remembered being nursed by Nyu just before falling under...but now her gentle touch was nowhere to be felt on his body. "Nyu...?" Through his fuzzy vision, he could make out a flesh-exposed pink-haired girl with a man's arm wrapped around her chest – a jet black object held in his other hand.

"Why do you wish to deny your children this new world of prosperity?" Kakuzawa grew frustrated as Lucy continued protesting.

"I don't want any part in your sick new world." Lucy cried out. What made her plight worse was the fact that she could easily end his life at any moment. All it would take is one vector, one blood vessel in his brain and the self-proclaimed God would suffer a mortal's death. But she couldn't do it...not with Kouta-

"You will be my Queen Lucy! Even if I have to harvest your womb...your exile from the facility has corrupted you...Living with those humans has made you forget your true purpose in this world." Kakuzawa clicked his revolver as he pressed the barrel against Lucy's temple. "I would hate to punish our very Goddess like this..."

"Nyu!" Kouta crawled back to his feet, holding into the railing for support.

"Kouta!" Lucy cried out as fresh tears suddenly flowed down her cheeks. She had never felt so vulnerable in this form before. She didn't care about waging a war against the humans anymore. She just wanted to be with Kouta...Yet there was only one man left who was denying Lucy her true wish...But she couldn't-

"Nyu!" Kouta called out to her as he coughed up more blood. "Have you already forgotten my promise?"

"H-uh?" Lucy was so confused, frightened that she may end up causing her own demise...Was she trying to prove something to Kouta by doing this? Why couldn't she just-

Then she remembered those words...the promise she had agreed to...

_"I have just one thing I want you to promise me..."_

Those three words...

_~"Don't ever cry."~_

**…**

**…**

**…**

Recalling those three words brought a smile to Lucy's tearful face. "Sorry Kouta...looks like I broke your promise."

CLICK.

"NYU NO!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!"

BANG...

…

Yuka and Nozomi were nearly gasping for breath as they sprinted up a set of stairs in their search for Kouta.

Yuka's eyes were stinging from the tears. It hurt to even see ahead, her legs ached and her sides so cramped she felt like she must have broken a few ribs. But the pain would have to be endured...Even if her feet were melting underneath her at this point...there was only one thing that truly concerned her heart.

"Kouta...please be alright."

…

Kouta and Lucy huddled into each others arms as their head and toes were covered in hot brain matter. The headless stem of Kakuzawa's neck spurted out a few more bursts of blood before his body fell onto its knees then the floor, spilling the remaining reflexive pulses of red soup on the ground at their feet.

Kouta was completely and utterly terrified at the sigh of a headless corpse. "That man...He just-"

"Kouta, I'm sorry." Lucy buried her naked flesh against Kouta's body, embracing him whilst wiping away some of the larger scraps of Kakuzawa's head from his face. It wasn't the most ideal picture she had imagined, but at that moment, she could finally be at peace with the one she loved.

Or so she thought.

"Sorry, I missed that one..." A heavy sounding voice rose up the final few stairs, his short crop of brown hair growing underneath his chisel-cut face and broad shoulders as the gunman finally came into view.

Standing atop this small platform overlooking the city which has harboured an angel's wrath of death and destitution for over ten years, the stage for the final act was set and loaded in a crucial game-changing weapon. Bandou extended his arm and pointed the gun, "At this range, I ain't gonna miss next time..."

Lucy shed one last tear as she knew her time with Kouta was finally running out...She just wished she could have had a little more time to enjoy with the young man.

_I wish I could tell you Kouta...But these were the best few seconds of my entire life..._

BANG...On the sound of the gun, there was only a few fractions of a second left...One of them would have to show their true dedication for the other in these last few blinks of light.

Kouta would be the one to show his true feelings for Lucy in those last frames. And as Lucy felt Kouta's arms throwing her down to the ground...and as Lucy hit the floor, feeling Kouta's body falling on top of her – unresponsive as his arms loosely clung around her blood-stained flesh...

_Kouta...? No..._

...As those final few glimpses of pure joy vanished at the trigger of mankind's most truly monstrous invention...Lucy felt her heart crumple into darkness...

The voice had returned...

"K**ooO**Oo**oo**O**oU**uuU**uu**u**ttT**aa**AA****a**a**A****!-!**-!**-!-**!-!-**!-!-!-!-!**"

* * *

><p><strong>Elfen Lied: The Second Verse - <strong>Episode 13 Preview

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_"Goodbye Kouta...Goodbye everyone..."_

~...Don't miss the final episode of Elfen Lied Season 2...Don't miss the final episode of _Elfen Lied: The Second Verse_...~


	13. FINAL: Episode 13: Tränen

**This is it...**

**You've waited long enough...  
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**After nearly six months...  
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**We've reached our final episode...  
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**The final major twist awaits...  
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**Now, it all rests with you...  
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**Please enjoy the final episode of _Elfen Lied: The Second Verse..._  
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Track 13 - Playlist

Audiomachine - Spirit Within (Deus ex Machina)

E.S Posthumus - Kalki

E.S Posthumus - Kuvera

Two Steps From Hell - Clock Tower Paradise (Epic Choir ver.)

Gothic Storm - Final Ascent

Beethoven - Moonlight Sonata 1st Movement (Short ver.)

Mozart - Lacrimosa

Beethoven - Love Story (there's a really good version of this on xisok23's profile)

Epilogue - playlist

Elfen Lied OST - Lilium (extra long 10+min. ver.)

**Track 13: Tränen (****涙****): Tears**

_~I think Kouta will be proud of me..._

_For keeping my promise...~_

…

Japan was under attack – after sixty-five years of peace, a new war was occurring on the mainland...Scattered across the four islands, pockets of civilization were being butchered by the a type of enemy never seen in conventional warfare...They had no guns or artillery, they didn't even have combat gear – or any gear for that matter...

These were the soldiers of the new millennium...These were the naked horned angels, reaping the land of the redundant _homo sapiens _in order to sow the seeds of the new race...

This was not a war between two rival states...

...This was a war against humanity itself...

...And now, with mainland China defending its own population from the pink-haired angels, governments and defence forces were pouring all their resources into fighting the ultimate battle for the fate of mankind...

Other nations would have enough time to bolster their forces for a sweeping attack, but Japan would be the first Domino ready to fall...

...Saseba was already dispatching the few remaining functional units towards the major population centres of Osaka, Tokyo and Northern Kyushu. Even at this immediate stage, the boardroom strategists knew that saving the major cities was the highest priority...

...There would inevitably be sacrifices...

China was also responding on its own front...But without any knowledge of these sophisticated enemies, many of there soldiers and tanks were being wasted; sliced, diced and blown apart by the invisible weapons of these otherwise insignificant horned girls. 500...1000...2000 deaths...by the minute the numbers had kept rising up; soon enough they stopped counting official deaths and forecast that final figures would be in the millions by the end of the day.

...A state of emergency was already declared by Beijing. Already, members of the parliament were accusing Japan or the United States for being responsible. Tensions were reaching their boiling point – but not as much as the steam emanating from within Tokyo.

The State of Emergency had not yet been declared by the Diet. Saseba and the USFJ stressed the need to maintain order and prevent widespread panic at this stage. Saseba believed they could contain the threat with their Vector Crafts – even if they were severely limited in stock...The USFJ itself was also left with an enormous decision...

...Whether or not they would implement **Project MacArthur..****. **

...Not even the Japanese government or Saseba knew of Project MacArthur...It would be the United State's last resort...

And now in a rather unconscious spot in Kamakura...Something was about to happen, which would have a profound influence on their decision...

**…**

_Shit! That damn kid made me miss! _Bandou cursed as he realised his first – and possibly last chance to take out the Queen for good had blown away much like the top frame of the tower. "Whoah fuck! Don't tell me-"

Lucy was furious...

**"YoU KillEd KoUTa!-!-!-!-? UnfoRGIvaBle! AbSOLuTELy UNFoRgivAblE!-!-!-!-!-!-!" **The maddened Diclonius unleashed a swarm of her vectors, flaring with so much energy that they were now visible, glowing like bright streaks of sunlight...But instead of warmth and life, these hands would only provide death and destruction.

"FUCK! Now I've made her pissed!" Bandou stumbled to the ground as the earth began shaking, he dropped his bullets as he tried reloading. When he saw how far Lucy's hands stretched across the skyline, he stared up in awe, his shades dropping down to reveal the true fear lying in even the hardest of Japan's soldier's eyes.

_This is it isn't it? I've really fuckin' blown it now..._

**…**

BACK ON THE US FLEET:

"Where the hell did that explosion come from!" The commander reached for a railing for support as he called out to his officers. "Was it a missile? Bomb? I want answers people!"

"Commander, a huge source of radioactive energy is coming from the mainland," one of the cadets by the control board answered, "the Geiger counters are going off the scale! It...seems to be emerging from one concentrated source."

"Impossible..." Arakawa crawled onto the boards itself so she could squeeze her face against the glass for a better look. The sky was now striped with bright white streaks. In between those streaks was a swirling mass of dark clouds. It seemed the sky itself was being pulled apart and manipulated by the giant arms stretching beyond the heavens.

Arakawa's jaw dropped, loose drool dripping onto the control boards as she became entranced by this surreal display. "It looks like we got ourselves a front row seat...for the end of the world..."

…

"KOUTA!-!-!-!-!" Yuka and Nozomi ran towards the base of the tower where Mayu, Nana and Mio were already waiting. Their heads virtually locked in their gaze upwards at the giant lotus blooming from the heights above. "I have to get up there!"

But she was stopped by an invisible barrier. "You cannot go up there..." Nana said with a soft firmness. "The one you all knew of as Nyu is dead...Now we must wait and see what happens to her other self..."

**…**

**"KooUUuuTtTttAaAA!-!-!-!-!" **Lucy's hands were crushing buildings and moving landforms, some even tens or hundreds of kilometres away. Her range was beyond mere Diclonius capacity – she was becoming a God herself...

But she still wielded a human body.

**"GuUGH!****" **Lucy spewed up more blood, onto her hand, but now even her palm was dissolving under the pressure she was putting on herself. Much like a melted ice cream in the summer heat, her hand just fell off from its wrist, slapping the ground in a pile of fleshy goop.

_Damn! So this is how it is going to end? Now even my own body is turning against me! Whatever! What's the point of living in a world without Kouta anyway!_

_**That's right! Before this body dies...I'll make sure to take as many people with me!**_

_**I won't forgive the humans who have taken everything away from me!-!-!-!-!**_

Her ringed eyes were now squarely focused on just one man...The man who she now wanted to kill the most of all...

**"You...!"**She lunged two of her radiant vectors towards the S.A.T hardman as he was pushed against a broken railing. Lucy clasped her two hands tight around his throat, hoping to crush the air out of his lungs and his neck along with it

"Gnck! Sh-it!" Bandou gagged as he tried reaching for his gun. He knew that no amount of steel could fix him this time...He really was about to die!

_Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! I managed to load just one more bullet in there...If I could just grab it...It would only take one shot...At this range, and in her current state..._

_...It would only take one bullet..._

…

"BANDOU-SAN!" Mayu cried out for her giant friend as she saw him slinging off the edge of the tower. "I have to help him!"

"Mayu-chan no!" Mio tried to stop her friend but to no avail

"No Mayu..." Nana on the other hand was more successful, holding her vectors around her shoulder to keep her back. "Bandou told us to stay here!"

"But *sniff* but-Nyu's really gonna kill him!"

"Mayu-chan..." Yuka sobbed as she laid her head on Mayu's shoulder. "As much as it pains me too, we have to trust Nana on this one. We can only have faith that Nyu is still alive in the girl up there. For the sake of Kouta - for the sake of the entire world, we have to believe that she will pull through..."

…

MEANWHILE...

"Colonel, the death toll has already reached into the six digits!" Advisors and generals were pacing around the table, flicking through fresh reports and taking multiple phone calls from embassies in Japan and China and other neighbouring states.

"The rogue Diclonius on Kamakura's coast has already caused billions of dollars worth of infrastructural damage," another officer reported.

"Dammit Colonel we _cannot _wait on Saseba any longer; either we initiate MacArthur or we let thousands more people die!"

"It's not that simple!" The Colonel was pulling his collar, drenched in sweat of nerves. "If we initiate MacArthur, it will be seen by Japan as an act of warfare."

"We have no other options at this point!" the officer persisted, "Either we take that risk or we go down as responsible for the millions of people we let die!"

"Please Colonel you have to give our forces some more time!" The Saseba representatives kept pleading with the final decision-maker.

"What about the United States then Colonel?" The officer provoked again. "If what our data about these Diclonius tell us is true, then the United States is under a serious threat here! The virus can spread like wildfire; and by the time it reached the States it would be too late for the White House to react!"

The Colonel buried his head in his hands, wiping back the bucket-loads of sweat beck into his buzz-cut crop of hair.

"Colonel, it's your call..." The Secretary advisor said by his side. "Do we initiate MacArthur or not?"

With the two Saseba representatives accepting they had done all they could, they held their breaths as they awaited the supreme commander's decision.

And after a few painstaking seconds, the Colonel, with a mere whisk of his hand, made his decision clear.** "Initiate Project MacArthur..."**

_And may God help us all..._

…

US FLEET:

The video-link returned to the conference room as the Commander answered the call. "Colonel!"

The Colonel was hardly the stoic statue of authority he had seemed to be just moments ago. Now he was looking sicker than ever, leaning down, with his skin now a greenish pale. What he was doing made him sick to the very stomach, but for the sake of his nation, and possibly for the sake of the entire planet, he would have to deliver the order himself. With a groggy voice he told the fleet commander "We're going through with Project MacArthur; prepare the missile's trajectory on the Kamakura."

With the entire room entering a deadly silence, the colonel gulped once as he stamped his feet together and gave what was going to be his last salute to his superior. "Yes Sir, Colonel!"

"You have all given your country a tremendous service... It's up to you now, and may God bless you all!" the Colonel added with sunken eyes before the video link was cut off into blank static.

After a few seconds of lamenting silence, the Japanese science lady broke spoke out. "Hey wait just a minute, you guys aren't seriously gonna nuke Japan...are you?"

Nobody could even look up, let alone speak at that point; they were just going through the procedure like they had prepared for all this time. The commander offered his answer as he walked over and laid a hand on the female scientist's shoulder. "I'm terribly sorry it has come to this, but we must carry out our orders now."

"WHAT THE HELL?" Arakawa shouted in protest as she slapped away his hand. "You can't just nuke some other country when you feel like it! You'll wipe out the entire town! Dozens of towns even...and all the thousands of innocent people who-"

"We are fully aware of that," the commander responded as solemnly as possible, "but there will be many more deaths unless we take this measure now..."

"Screw that!-!-!" Arakawa snapped back, biting her lower lip as the tears began pouring down her cheeks. "Don't you care about your own lives too!-? If you fire that thing we're all gonna die!"

"Please Ma'am," The commander looked like he wanted to fill an ocean with the tears building up inside himself, "this is hard enough for us to do as it is for you to accept."

"NO! I DON'T WANNA DIE!" Arakawa threw herself into the taller man's chest, pounding her fist softly against his chest as she soaked his uniform in tears. _All my work for nothing, all my research made void...I don't even get a fucking shower so I could die with dignity! _"*Ungh*...I'm...*ungh*...a *sniff* scien~tist...I...can't...die!"

The commander gently stroked Arakawa's hair as she cried in his arms. As the officers turned to their commander with one of them holding their hand over the final button, the commander gave him the nod of confirmation...

With the press of a button...Project MacArthur was underway...

An atomic missile was now on its way to Kamakura...

Its one target: a horned girl named Lucy...

…

_Ugh...I thought heaven would feel less painful than this..._Kouta thought to himself as he slowly pushed himself off the ground, feeling around his chest for the giant hole that last bullet must have eaten out. "What the- didn't I get shot? Gngh!" His brief excitement was brought back down when he still felt his original injury. "Nyu! It's alright! I wasn't-"

But Nyu wasn't able to hear him. She was now under the control of her DNA, the voice which tells her only to kill...Kouta could see the back of her naked body, her hair rising like flames, her arms and feet began melting like wax. "Nyu! What are you doing? Please stop this!"

…

"Gack!" Bandou kept struggling as he stretched towards the handle of his gun. It was becoming a marathon effort just to remain conscious at this point. He wished the scientists could have given him iron lungs along with the rest of his body, but he was a living robot, compelled to live and breathe like a pathetic mortal...This would be his last stand...

_That horned bitch...I could have killed you, but I missed the shot for that stupid boyfriend of yours...Cheh, can't believe I'd ever care enough to spare a human life..._

_...Guess feelings get you nowhere in the end..._

_...I suppose you and I aren't that much different from each other in the end eh?_

…

"BANDOU-SAN!" Mayu couldn't stand by any longer. She couldn't bear the guilt of watching Bandou disappear again. Even if Nana had to rip off her arms, she was going up there to help him.

"Mayu don't go!" Mio and Yuka reached out for her but she swatted their hands away.

"Mayu-" When Nana pinned her to the wall with her vectors Mayu kicked and screamed for her to let go. "I'm sorry I have to do this but-"

Before Nana could finish her sentence, Mayu had pulled a small rock out from her uniform, striking Nana's nose. The projectile was enough to stun Nana, allowing Mayu to run on up the stairs. "Mayu!"

"Dammit!" Now Yuka could no longer stay behind. She had her own reasons to reach the top of that spire. "Sorry Kouta...I hope I'm not too late!"

"Mayu!" Mio soon followed in hot pursuit of her passionate little friend

"Yuka..." So too Nozomi as she carefully scaled the flight of stairs.

"Geez..." with no other choice, Nana leapt up the stairs, propelling herself with her vectors.

…

**_I hate this...I hate this life I've been given...I hate everyone who sucks the oxygen from this godforsaken earth! And I hate you – the one who stole the only thing in this world that kept me going..._**Lucy felt her body becoming hotter and hotter as she stretched her arms across the country, she could feel herself lifting islands and stirring tsunamis in the ocean. She could feel the crumbling concrete as she obliterated each building and toppled every structure in her many hand's path. Yet even as she could feel all those things at once, she could feel the tiny ripples of the veins in one man's neck as she sought to crush every last micron of air from his body**. _Just die already! Die and go to hell for the sins you have committed against me! _**As another scoop of flesh dropped from Lucy's cheek, revealing the carnivorous bones in her jaw, she realised she had no more time to toy with this man...She decided to end this quickly, raising one more vector as she aimed for his chest.

**"You should feel proud of yourself...You have brought the apocalypse upon your own kind!"**

"Nyu wait-"

…

"Hah...hah..." Just a few more steps. "I'm coming Bandou!"

"Hah...hah...I'm coming Kouta."

"Wait up Mayu!"

"Kouta...Hah...hah...Yuka..."

"Lucy..."

…

Lucy briefly turned to the voice calling from behind...It almost felt like she was hearing a ghost..._Surely, _she thought, _Kouta couldn't be..._

"WATCH OUT!"

"GEHEE!" Bandou had picked up his gun...At point blank range...

Lucy fired her vector...

SPLITCH...

…

…

…

It was not entirely clear whether the vector or the bullet impacted first. But someone's body was caught in the middle of the showdown...Their short hair, rising upwards as their body arched backwards from the hit. A silhouette revealed a large hole in their chest...

Bullet or Vector...Bandou or Lucy...Neither of them could claim victory...

But one of them had just ripped the heart out of a little black-haired girl...

"MAYU NO!"

"MAYU-CHAN!"

"What's happened!-?"

Bandou's eyes widened with shock as Mayu fell down to her knees, her smile, more innocent and warm than ever before...Her tiny body shivered as she struggled to stay upright. As dark blood trickled down her lips, she shakily reached out her arms for the man she secretly adored since the day they first met on the beach... "Bandou-san..." She croaked between soft wheezes. "Looks like... you owe me... a big favour now..."

"You...fucking brat!" Bandou tried scolding the tiny girl through a hailstorm of his own tears. Never had the commando warrior felt this powerful emotion before. But as he reached out for Mayu, catching her falling body in his bear like arms, he finally realised how much he had started to care about this girl... "You stupid kid...Why did you go and run up here like some hero?" He brushed away her soft locks of hair as he splashed her face with his iron tears.

"Because...I really like you...Bandou-san..." Mayu smiled weakly staining her school uniform as she began coughing up more blood. "I never wanted to see you leave again..." She panted softly as her shoulders rose and fell rapidly. "I...wanted to save you...and Nyu this time..."

Bandou wiped away the heavy flood of sadness with the sleeve of his jacket. "You idiot, why the hell would I want to be saved by a runt like you?"

Mayu laughed at Bandou's words. "Yeah you're right..." As she felt her life slipping away by the second she rolled her gaze up towards her big saviour's eyes. "Now you owe me something Bandou-san..."

"Hehe...I don't think I could ever repay you for this debt now." Bandou tried to laugh off.

"No...I just want you to give me one thing..." She whispered something inaudible so Bandou leaned in closer.

Only to find himself getting puckered by Mayu's lips.

They remained close together, lips fused for what felt like hours...But alas it was only for a few warm seconds before Mayu's lips began to feel icy cold. "You were such a stubborn kid in the end weren't you..." And as he noticed the light in Mayu's world had finally dimmed away, the steel warrior brushed two fingers down to close her eyelids. "Hadn't it occurred to you that I didn't want you to leave either..? *Ungh*"

The storm clouds Lucy had conjured up were now battering down in rain. And as Bandou buried his tears into the hole in Mayu's chest, Kouta and the rest of the Maple Inn crowded around the fallen child.

"Mayu-chan why...?" Mio sobbed softly. She never thought she would be saying goodbye to her best friend like this.

"Mayu-chan!" Yuka collapsed into the puddle around her feet, with the rain battering down on her face, she wasn't sure how many off the drops streaming down her cheek were of her own making. She couldn't even feel happy for Kouta now...She felt so selfish, never thinking about what might have happened to the others in her care.

Nozomi knelt down and rubbed Yuka's shoulder, holding back tears of her own. Nana also tried to remain strong in front of Lucy and the others, but her heart also felt like it has been crushed at that point; causing her to break down under the rain of despair.

But the one person whose heart was aching the most at that point...

...Was Lucy herself...

Kouta's voice had only just brought her back from her sub-consciousness' control. And now that she realised Kouta was not dead, it made her sin even more hard to bear.

"Nyu..." Kouta turned back to face the horned girl, whose beautiful face was now partially disfigured. "I-"

"It's alright Kouta." She gently cut him off as she walked over to overs. With each painful step of her charred feet, she looked down at what was to be her last victim...The last victim of the voice which had constantly denied her the right to live with humans...

...This was the ugly truth of killing...

...This was the ugly truth of death...

And now these poor souls would would soon be denied their grief. Lucy looked up to the sky as she saw a bright light piercing through the thick rain-clouds. _With my body like this...I can only be useful for one last thing..._

"What is that?" Kouta squinted at the bright daylight star.

"They're doing all they can to kill me." Lucy said with a sorrowful tone of guilt. "This is humanity's last resort to wipe me and my kind of the face of this planet."

…

"Commander, impact will occur in twenty seconds..."

...

"You mean they're going to drop a bomb down on us?" Kouta said almost with disbelief. He had already undergone so many different emotions and trauma today, the idea of a nuclear attack may have almost come as a relief to the poor man.

But Lucy felt far more remorseful than that as she leaned over the edge of the railing, the breeze carrying her long pink locks. "I have committed a horrible sin against the one's I cared about...This is the least I can do for you all..."

…

"Fifteen seconds..."

...

"What are you saying Nyu..." Kouta whispered before he gulped in shock. "Wait are you saying that you'll-"

And when Lucy turned back to the one she adored, revealing a delicate smile against the shining star's glare, she carried an aura much like the day the two of them first met in the forest eight years ago. "That's right Kouta...I will repent my sins by saving your lives."

…

"Ten seconds..."

...

"But it's impossible! You can't destroy that thing!" Kouta tried to reason with the pink haired girl. "I mean what'll happen to you if..."

Lucy wrapped her arms around Kouta one last time, sobbing the final few drops of her tears left. "It's okay...I wish it didn't have to end like this but..."

…

"Five...

Four..."

...

Lucy trailed off as she lifted her maimed body onto the railing, standing tall against the star as it grew larger and brighter with each passing gust of wind. "...A world without Kouta is a world not worth living in..."

…

"Three...

Two..."

...

"NYU!"

And as the star soon became so immense and bright that it swallowed the entire sky in light. Kouta noticed Lucy mouthed just four last words before one last drop of water fell down her cheek; as it splashed onto the ground...

...Everything was swallowed in a giant wall of noise...

**KABOOOOOOOOOOM!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!**

…

…

…

…

* * *

><p>FIVE YEARS LATER...<p>

"Wow! I never thought we'd have Soumen noodles again." Nana chirped as she slurped up another bowl full of the cold noodles. "Sugoi! Sugoi~!"

"Now now, unless you can get a job you'd better take it easy on those noodles Nana." Kouta chided the now matured teenager as she frowned a little.

"Sorry...But honestly I have been trying really hard to get a part-time job!" Nana exclaimed as she winked. "I could be really useful in the rebuilding projects, but no builder will hire a little pink haired girl for some reason..." she pouted as she dropped her chopsticks by her knee.

"Hehe...I suppose you're not the typical image they're looking for," Yuka laughed as she picked up the plates for cleaning. "Maybe you could try singing like Nozomi-chan." Nozomi smiled humbly as she sunk her eyes into another musical textbook.

"Yeah, or you could volunteer at the refugee camps like Mio-chan," Kouta suggested.

"Oh that reminds me!" Mio jumped up and slipped on her fluoro work vest and jacket. "Sorry Yuka-san, Kouta-san and everyone, they'll kill me if I'm late again."

"It's alright Mio-chan," Yuka said as she leaned against Kouta's shoulder, "It's great that you're giving them much needed help."

"We'll come and see you out," Kouta said warmly as the two of them followed her out to the courtyard and the front gate. The sky nothing more than a placid, grey expanse...No clouds or wind, just a dull greyness that covered the entire horizon. A summer snowfall was also coming down at this time of year; it was no longer considered unusual for such a phenomenon to occur across Japan. And as Kouta and Yuka saw Mio leave, they absorbed the view of what was once the lush green forest they had waiting on their doorstep; now there was nothing but dead wood scattered across a fine powdered soil...Everything from the sky to the land and the snow had a uniform darkness about it...

_The fallout from the nuclear bomb had changed the climate dramatically around here and now none of the plants grow and all of the animals have starved or died from the constant cold...Five years have passed since then and I guess we were the lucky ones...All across Japan, bombs rained down...Nobody was spared. Inevitably, China and North Korea launched all their bombs too...Then America released some more...Russia, Britain, Israel, France, India...Eventually the entire globe was covered in nuclear fallout...It seems quite pathetic when we hear the main cause for all the bombings: apparently some crazy scientist had released a bunch of murderous clones onto Japan, so in order to contain the enemy, they decided a total nuclear wipeout was the only answer..._

_...A bunch of murderous clones..._

_...Unfortunately I knew very little about them, until my professor told me a bit more about them...She's now moved to America to sell the patent of her vaccine to an interested company..._

_She told me the clones still live on through the next generation. For the last few years, many people have been giving birth to deformed children – many are stillborn or die within a few hours, but some live on and have been responsible for many more strange deaths. I think she may still have some use for that vaccine afterall..._

_As for us, we only need to worry about getting by each day...Having enough money to pay for the limited food available...Since most of the soil is infertile, we all rely on food grown from synthetic farms, run like giant multi-story factories. That big scary man works at one of them...I always see __him on the beach every afternoon, planting flowers by a small shrine above the hill...I just wonder how long he'll be waiting for them to grow?_

_Things are quite bleak at the moment, but we are optimistic of the future. Recently two local research facilities joined together and are now focusing all their resources into new technology to replenish the soil and generate new life...It's amazing, considering one fairly ordinary looking girl managed to bring the two companies together – though I think her Father's previous role may have helped her a lot. But nobody would dare question her credentials – at least not whilst that butch bodyguard of her's is around..._

_I do hope things will change. Yuka and I have thought about having a child, but with all the worries about mutations, we've decided to hold things off for a while longer...Besides, now that we've adopted Mio, and with Nana and Nozomi living with us, it seems like we have a complete family of our own..._

_...Well almost..._

_...We still miss Mayu-chan everyday, I don't think there's been one night without Mio and Nana crying on each other's shoulder...Mayu was a tragic victim of something beyond all our control...I still wonder everyday if her sacrifice was ever truly worth it..._

_...And there's somebody else we miss greatly...If it wasn't for her, we would all have become part of the dust that covers this soil...She made the ultimate sacrifice and saved us all...I never even had a chance to catch her real name, but whoever I can call you, I just wish I could know where you had gone since that day...You left without a trace...But if you ever decide to come back one day..._

_I'll be waiting..._

_...Nyu..._

…

…

…

…

The clone danced on its two irregular legs, slipping in and out of sight as it charged forward, the veil covering its body briefly lifting to reveal its horrid complexion underneath. It bashed small craters into the dusty earth with its extended hands...one-two-three...four times roaring with a bestial ferocity as it lunged towards its prey.

But its prey had much sharper teeth. With two crossing jets of air passing through the creature, it wobbled awkwardly for a few moments before its body divided into three large chunks, exploding in a frenzy of blood and mutated organs.

Its killer pulled the ragged brown cloak over her body as she continued her long trek through the endless dusty plains. She had no real destination, just one goal...

There would be more of 'them' coming soon, 'they' could sense their friend's presence shortly after death...If not that 'they' would be drawn by the scent of blood...After all, meat was scarce around here - and even 'they' needed to feed on something...

The cloaked woman pressed on forward, limping on her toeless feet, her handless arms exposed to the constant dust-storms which ravaged this scorched wasteland. And as a lock of her pink hair drooped down from her hood, she remembered those last words she ever spoke to another soul.

_"I'll never cry again..."_

"That's true..." she muttered to herself as she continued her infinite trek to nothingness. And as she paused to take off her cloak, allowing the winds to slap across her scarred face, Kaede looked back at the footsteps etched behind her path, an ever permanent reminder of the past she had left behind. "Because until I have wiped this sin of mine from the planet, I can never shed a tear for you again...Kouta..."

End of _Elfen Lied: The Second Verse._

* * *

><p><span>Nee-ner-nee-nee-nee-ner-nee-ner-nee-nee-neeeeeeeeee (That was supposed to sound like a sad violin chord but anyway). Yep and with that brings us to the much needed conclusion of Elfen Lied's possible second season. Obviously I took a radically different path to the Manga version but that's what is to be expected with any adaptation. The curly question you must ask yourselves now is: whether this loses to, compliments or perhaps even surpasses the original ending. So does Okamoto-kun need to take some pointers for the new anime? Or does he need to give me a real good hiding for this disaster? Honestly share your thoughts, only a true EL fan can take criticisms just as well as they can take praise for their fanwork.<span>

Now if you have been good and read up to the very end (and didn't cheat by skipping to the last chappy like a lot of people do these days :( ) then remember how I said me and my beta reader had a special treat for you guys after the end? Well if you're extra patient you will get to enjoy your extra reward when we publish our Omake/Extra Chapter Special Episodes in the coming weeks. So even though this story is technically finished, please keep your eyes peeled for these bonus episodes coming up (think of them as the DVD extra features or something).

Oh and surely enough, I cannot leave on this note without giving my great thanks The Layman for watching over this story and for his own unique contributions (seriously though I think he saved Arakawa's career a few times throughout the season). If you like your angst mixed in with a few dashes of narm and garnished with extra crack, I seriously recommend you read some of his work after this...The first Omake for Second Verse will be one I've been planning as a sort of OVA/Episode Fourteen kinda thing. Then I will let you see what my brilliant accomplice has come up with his own omakes next. Then I might finish things off with a concluding omake that will possibly have an extra musical touch to it. But if you have any other ideas or requests, just throw 'em out to me in a review or a PM. 

So for now, this is where the story aspect of Second Verse ends...Please don't miss the bonus episodes!


	14. OVA:Omake1: Königinnen, Götter und Engel

Greetings all Elotakus...This is the first of the bonus tracks for Second Verse. The following one should be treated as the OVA of the Anime season (sort of like episode fourteen), but it's actually set during the timeskip period between episodes 2 and 3 (so you could also treat it as chapter 2.5). If you want to know where I adapted most of this omake/OVA from it is the special chapter at the end of Volume 8 of the Manga. If you search for chapter 108, you should find it. There are two chapters: the first (WARNING: slight spoiler ahead) mainly concerning Nozomi's dream to be an opera singer and the second (WARNING: another brief spoiler hint) concerning what happens after Yuka decides to buy some Sake for the Maple Inn residents to enjoy. I have used both of these Manga chapters for this quite long and (to quote a particular Layman) 'involved' omake. Speaking of, praise be to The Layman for checking over this omake and I hope you will all look forward to when I release his omakes for unsuspecting readers eyes to view (you will never view Elfen Lied the same way again MWAHAHA) in the very near future. Before we begin, I should also thank a reader who pointed something out in the Manga and gave me the idea to include a certain character in this chapter. 

Oh yeah, and I should probably also advise that the following chapter leans a little on the 'M-rated' side towards the end in case any of you kiddies are reading (hey why would kjds be reading Elfen Lied anyway?) That's enough from me, time to enjoy the OVA of Elfen Lied: The Second Verse!

* * *

><p><strong>(Bonus) Track 142.5: Königinnen, Götter und Engel (女王と神と天使): Queens, Gods and Angels**.

_~I'm not afraid anymore...If I remain a coward and don't take a step forward..._

_There's no way my dream will ever come true...~_

…

It was just like any other day on the little patch of paradise that was Kamakura...

"Surely this man should know..." As she held a small flyer in her hands, she walked over to the rather large man picking up trash along the beach. "Excuse me sir."

"Hah?" The brutal conversationalist looked up from his business. "What do you want missy?"

Slightly flustered by the big man's demeanour, the young woman lost her grip on the flyer she was holding as it floated to the ground. "Oh um, I didn't mean to bother you too long it's just-"

"Oi!" He dug his foot in the sand. "Don't you be throwing yer garbage on my beach okay woman?"

"Please forgive me." She answered in a very polite manner just as she quickly scooped up her paper. "Never mind, please carry on with what you're doing..." As she walked away from the grumpy body-builder she half turned. "By the way I think it's great that your helping our environment by-"

"GAGH get lost!" The king of the beach swatted his tongs in annoyance before he continued down his domain; picking up all the assorted pieces of humanity's decadence, squeezing each can as if he were crushing another person's skull.

As the other woman left the beach, she referred to the flyer in her hands. "I think I'll ask a friendlier looking person where it is next time..."

…

"Okay, I'm heading out." Meanwhile atop the lush green heights overlooking the city, a young high-schooler was making her way out of the place which she had known as her second home.

"Okay, please don't concern yourself too much over your upcoming exam, Nozomi-chan!" Her Senpai saw her out as another boy close to her age unloaded some bags from his shoulder.

"Gee what the hell are you packing in here Yuka?" The young man sighed. "Explosives?"

"Stop whining Kouta." Yuka lectured him. "There's some extra equipment for track and field today – it weighs a few kilos at the most."

"So the P.E faculty's so poor on funds they make you bring your own training course to school?" Kouta panted.

"No, it was merely a token gesture for the faculty." Yuka explained as she lifted her nose in the air. "As a matter of fact they're making extra room in the gym for an exhibition or something."

"An exhibition?" Kouta stood up with surprise.

"Well I don't think its the main one...But I think it has something to do with the one opening at the department store tomorrow." Yuka said, crossing her arms with doubt.

"I'm leaving too now," a middle-schooler with short black hair called out as she brushed past the two older householders.

"Oh bye Mayu-chan!" Yuka waved to her as she dashed out of the courtyard. "Where's Nyu-chan anyway?"

"GET BACK HERE NYU-CHAN!-!-!" Suddenly two pink haired girls stormed downstairs, one with shorter hair chasing an older one with long hair.

"Fwahhh! I'm sorry! I'm sorry I just couldn't help it!" The older one was ironically crying with tears trailing behind her as she tried to escape the younger menace.

"I'll kill you!" the shorter one declared as she jumped down from the star railing, tackling Nyu to the ground.

"Nana! What on earth are you doing to Nyu?" Kouta came over and lifted the girl off of her victim.

Now it seemed Nana was on the verge of tears as she grit her teeth, staring vengefully at the poor girl lying on the floor. "I saw her...I saw her rummaging through my drawer, sniffing my panties again!"

"I'm so sorry Nana." The alleged panties sniffer excused herself. "I thought they were Yuka's."

"WHA!" Yuka fell backwards and banged her head on the wall.

"Now Nyu, I thought we went over this eight times already..." As he let down Nana, Kouta began chiding her like a typical father. "We don't go sniffing though other people's belongings - got that?"

Poking her fingers together Nyu answered pouting. "Yeah okay."

"I-t-t-t-t" Yuka was still rubbing the back of her head after colliding with the wall. "Well I think we better get going now."

"Unn." Kouta lifted his bag as Yuka hurled her own rather effortlessly over her shoulder. "Okay take care of the place while we're gone Nana...See you!"

"G'bye." Nana waved casually as the three university bound students departed.

…

"_Oh gee...Oh my..." _The elegant young high-schooler kept mumbling to herself as she continued walking down the long hill, leading into the outer suburbs on her way to school. _My exam is really coming up soon isn't it? Have I even been preparing enough for it? I don't know what I've been doing – have I been doing the right thing..._

"Hmm...That man on the beach was not very helpful..." Nozomi recoiled when she heard a strange woman approaching her, hoping that she would slink by unnoticed.

But it seemed her turtle strategy had only brought more attention to the young girl as the woman called out to her. "Excuse me young lady, could I ask you for some directions to this place." Pointing to the crumpled flyer in her hands.

Nozomi took a quick glance at the sheet of paper then shook her head. "Um...sorry...no ma'am I'm sorry, no – please excuse me! Bye ma'am!" And with those jumbled sequence of words, the fragile young Nozomi made like a gazelle, cantering away from the unknown woman.

After her second failed attempt, the outsider shrugged her shoulders with a long sigh. "Well, I can't assume everyone here knows the place, but-OH NO!" She gasped as she looked down at her watch. "I'm going to be late now!"

…

"That strange woman earlier..." Nozomi kept dwelling on her encounter as she briskly increased her pace towards school. "Why did she want to know about the Maple Inn?"

Once Nozomi passed through her high school's front gate, she seemed to return her worries to another troubling issue: her selection exams. She couldn't focus on what her teacher was saying in class – writing down the notes mechanically without processing any new and irrelevant information. She couldn't even take in what her classmates were talking about during her lunchbreak, merely letting words and sounds stream through one ear and flow out of the other. She couldn't even appreciate the flavours and aromas of her favourite lunch, with each crunch she imagined another failed note or forgotten word for her oral performance.

It was only after her name was called out through the PA system that she finally re-entered the present world.

…

"I just wanted to check up on how you've been going lately with your self-study," Nozomi's tutor explained as they sat in the empty classroom. "It's been nearly six months since you've made your intention to enter a music college...And I hear their selection exams are scheduled in just a few days time."

Nozomi sounded like she had mumbled a 'yes' or a similar sign of acknowledgement. The teacher continued, "Have your parents been helping you out at all? Have they given you some support? I know it must be stressful for a third year student at this time of year..."

Nozomi began falling out of attention with her teachers conversation, merely lifting her head occasionally and a quick glance upward before looking back down at her cold hands rubbing together. __It seems, my dream is far more distant than I had imagined.__

"_DON'T YOU EVER SING AGAIN!"_

…

_10 years have passed since then..._

…

_I was always afraid...He would always get angry at me whatever I did...And it just made me more and more anxious...I became more and more of a coward..._

"_Nozomi."_

"_H-hai!"_

"_How's your studies going? Your exams are in half a year aren't they? If you're just gonna wind up in some crappy university you may as well forget about it._

_And all I could ever do was answer in a polite voice... "Hai..."_

_My Father wound never forgive me if I were to talk back or question his word...And so, up until now, I had never once gone against my father's word..._

_Ever since I was a little girl...I had always wanted to be a singer just like my mother...I had always looked up to her when she sung on stage – and my father enjoyed her singing as well..._

_My mother was an opera singer...I believed that if I grew up and sang on stage just like my mother, I could make father happy too._

_Things changed after my mother committed suicide..._

_My father changed the most of all..._

_Even though I was a child and I still didn't understand it all, knowing I could never see mother again made me sad...So I would often listen to her records..._

_This often made my father upset; he would break mother's records so I could never listen to them._

"_Don't you ever listen to your mother's records again!" He would raise his voice whenever I tried listening to them._

"_I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" And despite my sincerest of apologies, he would often spank me on the bottom, leaving red marks for the next few days; a painful reminder as to how much my father loathed my interest in mother's music...That was probably when I first started wetting myself..._

_Since then I had never opposed my father...I could not understand why he got so angry whenever I tried singing one of my mother's songs – I only wanted to sing like her and make him happy..._

_One year, I thought if I made him a cassette tape, it might change his harsh spirit...I recorded a song as a birthday present for him..._

"_~Happy Birthday Dear Daddy...Happy Birthday to you!_

_Daddy...I...My dream is to become and opera singer. And I want you to be there in the best seat of the house for my first performance...And I also...I also want to make you happy like you used to be when mum was still alive..."_

_And so I left the recording there, hoping he would accept my feelings..._

"_Happy Birthday Daddy...Here's a present I made up for you."_

"_Huh? What's this?"_

"_I sang my very best...I...Daddy I..."_

_Instead of surprise or praise, He smashed the cassette on the floor and slapped me across the cheek. "Did you think that making me listen to a song was going to change my mood? Don't you ever sing again – understood!-?_

_With my feelings rejected by father, I eventually sought solitude through singing behind a nearby mountain...In this quiet place in nature, I was able to sing freely and as loudly as I wanted – nobody would ever know...I really enjoyed singing to the tree and the birds, thinking about how much they enjoyed my songs – it was just like my very own stage...I could come here and sing whenever I felt depressed._

_My sanctuary...My stage..._

_It was only around six months ago when things would take another turn for the worse..._

_'RESORT MANSION UNDER CONSTRUCTION: ENTRY PROHIBITED.'_

_I had lost the one place where I could sing...I was about to give up on everything when..._

"_Oh Nozomi-chan? Hey, it's been a while! How have you been?"_

_If I hadn't bumped into my Senpai Yuka that day..._

"_Senpai..."_

"_What's the matter? You look pretty glum."_

_...I would have given it all up forever..._

"_What's that? You don't have a place to sing? Aw come on, that's nothing to worry about..."_

_Yuka was always a reliable Senpai to me...She was a very confident person...Someone I could console with at times..._

"_Why don't you come sing at our place? There's plenty of rooms; you can just rock up anytime you feel like!"_

"_Um...Is that okay?"_

"_Of course!"_

"_Um...Thank you very much."_

_And so I practised at Yuka-senpai's house over the next six months...Honing my skills so I would be flawless when the final exams come up..._

_...Hopefully I should be receiving my exam slip in the mail today...I've come this far now, but I'm so nervous..._

_I don't think I'll make it through after all..._

…

MEANWHILE:

"Mou, that was such a boring lecture today wasn't it?" Kouta stretched his arms as he walked out of the classroom.

"Still can't be as bad as Kakuzawa Sensei's." Yuka noted as the three of them made their way down the corridors.

"By the way, we should check out whatever they're doing in the gym halls." Kouta suggested

"It looks pretty busy at the moment," Yuka peered down at the sporting fields from the window. "It might not really be that interesting anyway, I think it might have been some sort of art exhibition or something."

"Art?" Nyu brought a curious finger to her chin. "That sounds interesting."

"Well what do you think Kouta?" Yuka consulted her apathetic cousin.

"Well, whatever Nyu wants I'm happy to go ahead with." And so the three of them made their way towards the bustling exhibition.

…

"Hehe, look at them all; gathering like ants to a mound of honey." Meanwhile cooped up in a dirty and smelly storage room a vengeful witch (I mean science assistant) was studying the specimens lined up outside the exhibition venue below. "Those foolish humans, they have no idea that a future goddess is watching over them..."

The so-called future goddess (who was really Arakawa, big surprise) threw her sandal covered feet into her desk as she leaned back in her creaky office chair. "Ahh...It will only be a matter of time...I've worked my butt off until now and it should finally pay of-fafa-WWAGGH!" As a result of leaning too far back in her rusted chair, the assistant lady ended up falling off her chair; her buttocks colliding with the hard floor as a pile of papers kicked up in the air. "I-t-t-t-t!"

One of the assorted papers floating down around Arakawa landed in her lap, when she noticed that it was an old photo, she adjusted her glasses with curiosity, lifting the frozen memory towards her for a closer view. She noticed it was a photo of herself as a young child standing on stage and hugging a trophy almost her own size. The banner above read: 'NATIONAL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SCIENCE COMPETITION.'

"Ahh...I was such a cute little girl back then." She regarded her younger self, noting the cheerfully wide smile doting the young science whiz. "I always wanted to be a scientist..."

**...**

"_Congratulations Arakawa-chan...You've won our school another science grant!"_

"But not everyone seemed to like my academic talents."

"_Psst...Look over there! It's Nerdypants Arakawa over there..."_

"_Teehee...Yeah, I heard she eats live worms for breakfast!"_

"_Hehehehahaha!"_

"All of my classmates were jealous of my excelling grades."

"_Hi Himeko-chan. Can I sit with you guys."_

"_No sorry Arakawa...We don't want to be friends with you anymore. Maybe you can hang out with the teachers or something."_

"_Teeheehee."_

"But my parents would always encourage me."

"_Look Mummy! Daddy! I got my report card today!"_

"_Well done my dear daughter, if you keep these grades up I'm sure you'll win a Nobel Prize."_

"_Unn!"_

"As long as I believed in myself, it didn't really matter what others thought about me...Friends are just a distraction towards your success."

"_And the Junior High category award goes to Arakawa!"_

"_Wow! Thanks so much!"_

"...Those damn kids."

"_Ungh."_

"_Hey Frankenstein-sensei! That's a nice trophy you got there! Maybe you'd like to share it with your friends here!"_

"_Please, just give it back..."_

"_Haha! What, but that's so selfish of you! We all wanted a piece of the trophy to remember our good friend by."_

_SMASH._

"_HAHAHA! What a cheap piece of crap. Here you can have it back now."_

**"Those hurtful bitches...I remember their faces too...****" With flames covering her eyes and a clenched fist, the vengeful Arakawa vowed, "****When I become the new God...I'll smite them first! MWAHAHAHA******!"****

…

"Gee this line's taking forever..." Kouta kept bobbing his head out so he could see any signs of progress in the queue. "At this rate we'll miss our next class."

"It's alright Kouta." Nyu sighed happily. "I don't want to make you late on my count, let's go to class."

"Sorry Nyu." Kouta apologised as the three of them soon abandoned the unmoving line. "I wish Yuka-chan could be as humble as you are at times."

"Why you!"

Just as the trio left, a woman came rushing into the gym from the other side of the human wall. "Oh my I'm so late! I didn't expect this many to show up."

…

LATE AFTERNOON:

"Man what a day." Kouta threw his hands behind his back, well and truly relieved that he could return back to his den.

"I hope Nozomi-chan isn't too worried about her exams." Nyu brought up the topic of their nervous friend during the walk home.

"I think it is her father which troubles her the most." Yuka mentioned. "She still hasn't told him about it and she can't afford the examination fees. Plus the school of music only allows students to attempt the exam once."

"That's so harsh." Kouta shook his head in pity. "I wish her dad wasn't such a tight-arse about these things though."

"Yeah...I know, let's get something nice for when she comes back tonight!"

…

Nozomi kept muddying herself with thoughts as she embarked on her journey back home.

_I have to get home and pick up my examination slip..._

_I have to get home and pick up my examination slip..._

_I have to..._

"KAGH!" Nozomi jumped back after she realised she bumped into somebody. The bespectacled woman seethed as she rubbed her forehead. "Oww...That friggin' hurt."

"Wah...I'm terribly sorry please-"

Creeping over her with curled fingers, the science lady dawned over her like a demon. "**You damn well better be little girl MWAHAHA!**"

"KYAAAAH!" Needless to say, the poor high-school girl ran away for her dear life, tears blazing out of her eyes as she sped down the street.

Feeling kid of guilty, Arakawa screwed up her face and sighed. "Some girls just ain't got no humour... Oh well, back to plotting world domination! **MWAHAHAHA!**"

Finally in the relative safety of her own residence, Nozomi took a few heavy breaths before she opened the front door. "I'm home-"

"NOZOMI!" Her Father yelled out her name from the living room chair.

"Ah sorry," Nozomi tensed up inside herself. "Is there something-"

"Care to explain this." When Nozomi noticed her Father holding out the examination slip she instantly froze up...Her father had already discovered it before she could get her hands on it. Her future already felt like it was slipping away that very moment. "Were you planning to try an exam for a music school without telling me?" her Father asked coldly. "ANSWER ME!"

"O...Okay..." Tears were already streaming down the fragile girl's eyes.

"_Hey Nozomi-chan...I know that we can't really but in on what's going on in your personal life...But we all know how hard you've been working for this, Nozomi-chan."_

"I will never forgive you for this! You are not to leave this house tomorrow!"

"_We're all cheering for you!"_

"_Give it your best shot okay!"_

_There _are _people cheering for me...I can't afford to betray their faith in me..._

_Yuka-senpai..._

_Kouta-san..._

_Mayu-chan..._

_Nana-chan..._

_Nyu-san..._

_I'll definitely-_

Just as her Father began turning his back to head down the hall...Nozomi said the one word she never dared say to her in over ten years. "**No.**"

At first he must have thought he misheard something. He straightened up and slowly turned back to his daughter with one eye gazed at her. "What did you say?"

"I am going to take the exam tomorrow." Nozomi explained, holding her hand to her chest and speaking with more assertion than normal. "I will not give up on this now." And as she held out her hand waiting for something, she paused again before making her request. "Please give me back my permission slip." Holding back the tears of a coward she made her point clear to her Father. "I've made up my mind...I'm going to live my life!"

After a few tense seconds, her Father frowned as though he had finally succumbed to a ten year battle. "After all these years, you really seek to oppose me no matter what." He took one step forward and reached out for his daughters hand, placing his other underneath as he cusped her hand firmly, handing over the exam slip. "I only have one condition..."

…

"_I'm heading out." _As Nozomi made closed the front door, her father sunk back in his chair with a deep sigh. Gazing out of the window as the snow dampened the sky, he kept replaying the words of her young daughter ten years ago...

"_I want to be singer just like mother."_

_The truth is Nozomi...I wasn't stopping you from signing out of hatred – in fact I really hoped you would one day become an opera singer..._

_What I didn't want...Was for you to die the same way as your mother..._

_You see Nozomi...There's a defect in your voice chords...It's something your mother also possessed called 'Sopranto Dramatico'. Normally Japanese people don't possess this. It enabled your mother to sing very high notes but came at a terrible price. It makes your throat very weak...And so your mother forced herself to sing until she destroyed her throat...her voice..._

_...And ultimately...Went into a depression and destroyed her very own life..._

_Nozomi, you would have inherited this voice from your mother. But I just couldn't bring myself to tell you when you were dreaming to become an opera singer._

_Your mother was a very stout-hearted woman. But singing was everything to her...So when she was unable to come to terms with her the defect in her throat, she committed suicide..._

_For such a weak-willed girl as yourself, I knew you would eventually do the same...I knew you __would be unable to handle it..._

_I wanted to make you take up a path that wasn't singing...but I guess there's no way of fighting the blood inside of you...But seeing you bring up enough courage to oppose me for the first time has given me some faith in you..._

"I have one condition..." Rising from his seat and taking something out of his drawer, Nozomi's father held the broken cassette tape which he had taped back together some time ago. "My condition is...I want to be there, in the best seat of the house, for your first concert so you can bring me joy."

…

LATER THAT NIGHT AT THE MAPLE INN:

"Oh great Nozomi-chan's back!" Yuka and the others called out to her from the dining room. "That's awesome now we've got another mouth to help us clean through this Sake I bought."

"Hi everyone." Nozomi quietly sat down between Nana and Mayu.

"Why did you buy Sake anyway?" Kouta grumbled. "Only me and you are of legal age and I can't be too sure about Nyu-chan either."

"Sorry but Nana-chan thought it was juice and picked it up by accident, " Yuka explained haphazardly. "I figured it'd be waste not to drink it right? You know expensive that stuff is?"

"Yeah but you don't need to let everyone drink it." Kouta nagged like an uptight mother.

"Oh come on Kouta, they say sake's better than a hundred medicine's right?" Yuka cheered. "It doesn't hurt to try some once in a while."

"In that case..." The six Maple Inn residents raised their glasses. "KANPAI!"

…

Needless to say, it wasn't very long before...

"I'm SucH A teRRible WoMan!" Yuka sobbed and drooled hysterically. "I'm beTeR ofF BeInG DeAD!" She hiccuped some more as she continued ranting to her cousin. "I'Ve gOt *hic* a TeRRiBle senSe of *hic* StyLe and *hic* I alWayS geT my PanTieS weT in No tIme!"

"Um Yuka, I think you've had a little too much." Kouta, who miraculously managed to stay sober throughout the Sake-fest, advised.

"GOD OF THE PANTIES I'M _SOOOO _SORRY!" Instead, Yuka rose up to her feet and starting yelling louder. "I KEEP KILLING MY PANTIES SO QUICKLY!"

"Yuka please settle d-"

"HEY KOUTA!" The poor responsible bystander was smacked over the head by a sandal a drunken Nana was holding. "How could you bully me like that!-? WAAAAGGGHH!"

"What's the matter with you Nana?" Kouta asked not really expecting a proper answer. "Hey Nyu could you help me out with this..."

But when he looked over to Nyu he was shocked to find her standing near him wearing bunny ears in her gorgeous pink hair...

...And nothing else...

...Surprised?

"_Ko-Kouta..._" She whimpered his name like a bunny rabbit.

"What the heck happened to your clothes Nyu?" Kouta's jaw nearly hit the floor. Mayu meanwhile was face down and out for the count – so too was Wanta with a ballooned belly. But Nyu seemed to be made of more spirits (pun intended) as she reached over and grabbed Kouta's hand.

"_Kouta...My breast...My breasts...They feel so painful." _Pulling his hand slowly towards her swollen mammary glands, "_Could you just...Loosen them up a little?" _moaning with tears rolling down her cheek, she plonked Kouta's hand onto her soft flesh pillows, rubbing them around as space-craft's limbs started exploring the extraterrestrial territory.

MUNI. With the eel biting down on the chest bun, Nyu moaned again as she brought Kouta's head into her valley of Eden. "UUAHH!"

"WAH" Kouta's cries were soon muffled. _They're so soft._

"_Kouta-san..." _Nyu began sobbing, as tears mixed with the sweat draining down her neck and back. "_Thinking of you just now...I can't hold myself back..." _Guiding his hand below the Equator, she pleaded with the very confused young man._ "Kouta-san...Please make me feel better..."_

_Agh this is bad! _Kouta thought. _If this keeps up I'll-_

"DON'T" Yuka slammed the table down on both their heads, and in a hidden blessing, saving Kouta from the forbidden fruits of desire. At least until Yuka decided to get in on the situation. "UWAAGH! I KneW it AlL AloNg! KouTa LoVEs NyU waY moRe thAn mE!-!-!" And so pulling up her sweater she cried. "WHY DON'T YOU EVER TOUCH _MY _BREASTS!-?"

"YUKA?"

"ARE THESE EVIL TITS LEADING YOU ASTRAY KOUTA!-?" The insane and drunken cousin began inquiring further into the pink haired bunny rabbits breasts, fondling them roughly. "Take this! And this!

"Baka, what are you doing?" Kouta continued trying to get through to them somehow.

"**Hey!" **Suddenly Kouta looked back up at Nyu as Yuka paused whatever activity she was planning now. Nyu suddenly took on a darker expression as she glared at them both. "**What the hell do you think you're doing?**"

…

"_KYAH!" _Nozomi could only imagine the sheer chaos ensuing in the room as she sought refuge in the hallway.

_Everyone seems to have gotten really excited tonight...But I'm glad they can have some fun times and be happy..._

TAP-TAP. A sudden knock at the door made Nozomi jump a little fright as she went over to answer it. "H-hello?"

"Oh Good Evening. Fancy seeing you here!" Nozomi was surprised to find the same young woman, probably close to her Senpai's age, standing outside the door. "This is the Maple Inn restaurant isn't it?"

Nozomi lifted a hand to her chin nervously as she hummed her explanation. "Um...Sorry but this is Kouta and Yuka-san's house."

"Oh." The neatly dressed young woman raised a disappointed eyebrow. "I heard there was a famous restaurant in this town some time ago...So they must of closed it down eh?" She crumpled the old flyer back into her handbag. "Well, I'm in town for one more day as I'm holding an art exhibition in the Ganshou Department Store...I-"

"Somebody...Save me!" The woman peered through the door to find a young man being wrestled to the ground by a naked pink haired girl.

"Oh please excuse them," Nozomi bowed her head. "They've been."

"Oh it's quite alright, adults can get up to some strange things at times." She laughed light-heartedly as she took one more glance at the girl inside, scrunching her nose a little before stepping out. "Well , sorry for interrupting...Have a good night!"

"Take care." Nozomi waved her off, feeling quite embarrassed now.

When the woman left the courtyard she kept thinking of the girl inside the house. "No, it couldn't have been her."

…

THE NEXT DAY: GANSHOU DEPARTMENT STORE:

After the initial success at the university launch, the official launch of the exhibition today was a huge success as hundreds of Kamakura's elite and art-junkies converged inside the floor to admire some of the young lady's many years of work.

_Wow! I can't believe so many people showed up today too!_ She felt quite accomplished with herself, giggling as she flicked back her medium length black hair.

"So you're the fine young lady whose conceived all these masterpieces?" She was called out by one big suited gentleman. "We were all fascinated with this wall piece in particular." The dapper gentleman walked over to a large group of a dozen keen art fans, all gazing at the giant painting which had been placed at the back of the gallery. It was a watercolour illustration of a young pink haired girl with two horns poking out of each side of her head. Though the subject of the painating appeared quite glum and melancholy, two white angel wings sprouted from her back as the sun peered through the dark stormclouds in the background. "We were all just so intrigued by the young horned girl in the picture, was she someone you once knew in your life perhaps?"

The prolific artist frowned as she thought about the horned girl she had befriended ten years ago. Tragic circumstances had brought the two girls society had rejected together and had torn them apart as well.

"_Ugh...Why am I in a hospital?"_

"_Aiko Takada...You were shot and have been in a coma for two and a half weeks."_

"_Ugh...It feels so sore...Wait a minute- that girl!"_

"_I'm sorry?"_

"_What ever happened to her? I need to know? Those men with guns were after her? Where did they take her?"_

"_I'm afraid I have no idea what you're talking about. You might be feeling amnesiac or delusional from the coma, so please just rest for a while..."_

…

Aiko huffed as she shook her head with a smile. "No I can't say I ever knew such a girl."

…

_'KARAKURA KILLER SHOT DOWN IN POLICE STANDOFF! LAST NIGHT IN A LOCAL DEPARTMENT STORE...'_

"_What lies! It can't be true...She was my friend!_

_...I'll make sure the world remembers you for who you really were..."_

…

"Well we'd be really happy to purchase this magnificent piece off of you." The pompous man brought out a golden outlined chequebook as he began writing down figures. "How much would you like? Say fifty-million Yen?"

…

"_Oh look, it says Aiko Takada is coming back here for an art exhibition tomorrow!"_

"_Really? I heard she was a great young art prodigy form around here...Apparently her parents were very abusive though..."_

"_Such a shame...But look how she's ended up...I bet her friends and relatives must be so proud of her!"_

…

"I'm sorry gentlemen." Aiko averted her gaze back to the painting. "But this painting right here is worth something to me beyond mere monetary value..."

…

_"Gee this line's taking forever...At this rate we'll miss our next class."_

_"It's alright Kouta...I don't want to make you late on my count, let's go to class."_

_"Sorry Nyu..."_

_"Oh my I'm so late! I didn't expect this many to show up..."_

…

"Well, it's great to see you place some real heart into your work Ms. Takada." The man tipped his glasses as his group moved onto the other paintings assorted throughout the store.

Aiko smiled with watery eyes as she looked up at her painting of the horned angel. "I could never put a price on you...This was the one thing I could offer to repay you for the wonderful, yet brief time we spent together..." She dug through her handbag and produced what looked like a small, tattered beanie hat. "Wherever you may be, I hope you're living a happy life with many friends...Kaede..."

* * *

><p><span>So if you made it all the way to the end, I value your determined Elfen Lied spirit. Please be rest assured that The Layman's omakes will not be anywhere near such length. But I won't reveal anything else about them, because you WILL make sure to stick around and read them too won't you? And make sure if you have any other ideas for omakes just shout them out. So make sure you don't miss The Layman's Omakes!<span>


	15. Omake 2: From a Layman's Perspective

_Greetings from The Layman, Sir Mulchmeister's editor and partner in crime on this little tale. You may have seen my name tied to other stories, be they on their own or (again) with another author, but for those who haven't allow me to say greetings again and thank you for bothering with this little joint project of ours. We couldn't have done it without you._

_Anyways, Sir Themulchmeister has been incredibly fun to work with; not only has he allowed me to write entire scenes for the story (mostly involving a certain bespectacled, unwashed scientist...), but he's also allowed me to write my own Omakes in addition to his! What I specialize in is humor, loooots of humor, so they're not going to be as somber as his was; I wrote them purely for the giggles._

_So with that I'll let y'all get to the readings. _

_And now, the Layman presents..._

**_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/**

**Dr. Arakawa, I presume?**

"I wonder who the new teacher will be?" Kouta wondered aloud to his cousin as they sat in their seats, waiting for their next class to start.

"I don't know," Yuka, his cousin, said. "Personally, I'm more confused as to why Kakuzawa-sensei suddenly left without leaving any explanation."

"I guess that is pretty weird," Kouta mused, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. Yuka leaned over conspiratorially.

"I heard from some of the other girls that a psychopath snuck in to the building after all the students left and cut off his head!"

"Cut off his..." The thought was a bit gruesome for Kouta's tastes. When he was ten years old he, his father and his younger sister were in a train accident that ended up killing nearly everyone involved but Kouta. The experience left him changed, and though he eventually worked past most of it he still couldn't handle blood very well. "Wasn't that in a movie?"

Before Yuka could some up with a smart retort the bell rang. The other students around the room found their way to their own seats and waited for the new teacher to show up.

"Oh, hi Nozomi-chan," Yuka said brightly as her friend took her seat to her right.

[It's starting to get late, is the teacher here yet?] the dark haired girl asked, making a bunch of signs and motions with her hands.

"No, not yet," Yuka said, signing back.

"SORRY I'M LATE!-!-!" a frantic voice called from the hallway. A moment later the door burst open and in fell a woman with a lab coat and glasses, skidding on the floor a little ways before softly colliding with the desk in the front of the room. "Ow..." she said flatly (and a little muffled).

"Um, Sensei?..." Kouta said, peering over down at the women sprawled on the floor.

"Oh no, I'm fine," she said, picking herself up, "this is nothing. Now if we were talking about my friend Kisaragi-chan- But that's not important right now; why don't we start with the introductions." She walked up to the blackboard and wrote her name in rather blocky letters. "My name is Arakawa-sensei," she underlined her name, "and I'll be taking over for Kakuzawa-sensei."

**"Take your top off!"** a student called out from behind the two cousins and their friend. He was a full head taller than the rest of the room, and had shaggy black hair that hung limply down his neck. He also wore a pair of sunglasses that completely hid his eyes from view.

"I most certainly will _not_!" she shouted indignantly back at the wickedly grinning student. "Now if there are no more interruptions-"

**"Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!"**the self same student chanted.

"-then I'd like to get this lesson started." She began writing again on the blackboard again when she felt something bounce off the back of her head. "OK, who did that?" she snapped, whirling back around to glare at the assembled young men and women. The Unknown Student from before whistled casually as he _'discreetly' _dropped a homemade crossbow into the spot in front of him.

Which happened to be Kouta.

"Kouta!" Yuka exclaimed, "how could you!"

"I didn't!" he cried, pointing behind him, "It was him!"

**"I have no idea what you're talking about..."**the Unknown Student said in a tone that said he _did _know and wasn't ashamed of it.

[I don't know these people...] Nozomi signed.

"Nyu-chan!" a student with short pink hair whined to another student with longer pink hair, "Is it time to eat yet? I'm hungry! ...AND STOP TOUCHING PEOPLE'S BREASTS!-!-!"

Arakawa hung her head and sighed; this was going to be a _loooong _day...

_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/

**'Card vs. The Card.**

The two figures stood apart from each other, hands hovering over their respective weapons. For all intents and purposes they looked identical, save for the color of their outfits; one was clothed in garments of deep, vivid crimson, the other in almost complete blackness like the of them stared intensely at their virtual twin through the thick haze of their framed lenses. Both, sharing identical snarls – half confused, half scornful - as they kept their gazes locked. Their right hands crawling down their sides like a spider feeling around for their holsters.

Then they both drew weapons and brought them to bear on their opposite. In perfect synchronization they fired on each other.

"#_Alucard what are you doing?#" _the voice of Sir Integral Fairbrooke Wingates Hellsing said over the earpiece he wore. _"#You should have made it to the target by now.#" _

"My apologies Master," he said as the hole in his forehead closed itself up, "I was just taking care of some poser. He's dead now."

"#_Well then hurry up and kill the target! By now I wouldn't be surprised if all of the town are ghouls now.#"_

"Don't worry Master, it'll never taste another virgin when I'm through with it." Then he briskly sauntered off to go kill the punk snot vampire that thought it was all that. Though for some reason he couldn't get how _stupid _this copycat he just ended was.

At least Luke Valentine didn't copy his _entire outfit _as well...

_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/

**Oh! My Gods...**

Kakuzawa leaned forward on his desk, wearing the furrowed brow of a man deep in thought. All his planning was starting to come to fruition, and this admittedly brought a cold smile to his lips.

"Soon," he said, half to himself, "I will become a god..."

"Um, _excuse me_?" a voice said behind the elderly man. He spun around quickly and came face to face with...a highschool girl? She was dressed in typical sailor fuku wear, and had a yellow headband in her hair. "I don't think so Buster!"

"Who are you?" he demanded, pulling out the gun he had in his desk drawer. "And how the hell did you get in here?"

"I'm Haruhi Suzumiya, and _I'm_the one who's asking the questions here." She marched past him (completely ignoring the gun) and leaped up on his desk, bending forward so she was at eye level with him. "First of all, what's the big idea stealing my shtick?"

Now it was Kakuzawa's turn to say-

"Your 'shtick'?"

I was actually gonna go with another "excuse me" but that works too.

"Yeah, being God. It's been going on for about three-four years now and I'm not about to have some decrepit old geezer waltzing in and acting like he's the Big Cheeze."

Kakuzawa was stunned. Even forgetting that this girl apparently got through all the security and even found him in the first place her claiming that she was God was beyond absurd.

"I'm calling security," he said, picking up his phone, "let them sort this out."

"Don't bother," the brown haired girl said dismissively, "I already took care of them; poofed them into different dimensions."

But she was far from finished with this old wannabe god just yet, "And you know what? I've seen what you have going on in this little facility of you have here, and even _I'm_not that depraved!"

"And just what are you going to do about it?" he asked smugly, not particularly fearing a fifteen year old girl.

She grinned a grin that evoked primal survival instincts and made him fear for his long squandered virginity.

"I'll be taking your office; it'll make such a better headquarters for the SOS Brigade than that broom closet we call a clubroom does now."

"You can't do that," he said matter of factly. As if he was going to let a snot nosed brat intimidate-

Wait, what was that she said about poofing his men away?

"Wanna bet?" she challenged, still grinning that megalomaniacle grin.

And he was suddenly nowhere, surrounded by miles and miles of whiteness in every direction.

Though all things considered it wasn't that terrible of a fate to end up with. In fact the only thing that would make it all unbearable was-

"JUST WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK I AM?"

I was going to say hoards of flesh eating spiders but that works too.

_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/

**An Eternity Together.**

Anna: So...

Agent: So...

Anna: ...

Agent: …

Anna: ...Do you have any cards?

Agent: Playing cards aren't part of my standard equipment. Besides, I thought you told me you didn't know anything.

Anna: Well I can't remember everything from when I was that..._thing_from before, but I still know what I did and what I learned from when I was growing up!

Agent: Fine, but I still don't have any cards.

Anna: Oh...

Agent: ...

Anna: ...We could sing a song?

Agent: *sigh* Fine then, what songs do you know?

Anna: OK, um..."I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves-"

Agent: What _other_songs do you know?

Anna: Um, not very many. Do you know "The Song that Never Ends"?

Agent: ...No.

Anna: Then how about "99 Bottles of Beer"? Although since it looks like we're going to be here a while maybe we should up it 9,999,999,999,999,9-

Agent: We're not singing anymore.

Anna: Mou... We could play I Spy?

Agent: There's nothing here but rocks.

Anna: Well then what so you suggest, huh? I mean there's no way out of this place and I'm _bored!_

And on top I'm hungry and I'm naked! Argh!- Ow!

Agent: Hey, you alright?

Anna: Yeah, I just stubbed my toe on something...what the heck?

Agent: What is that?

Anna: I don't know...

Agent: Is it some type of drill bit?

Anna: Why is it glowing?

Agent: It's probably dangerous, throw it away.

Anna: Huh? Why?

Agent: Because it's probably radioactive or something.

Anna: Ahh! *throws strange glowing thing away*

Agent: Well then, I'm going to take a nap now.

Anna: But wait, then who will I talk to? Aw man! I knew I shouldn't have thrown that drill thing away... Hmm..."It's a small world after all-"

Agent: That's it, no more singing.

Anna: Hey I thought you were asleep!

Agent: Well I'm not anymore, so that means no singing.

Anna: But-

Agent: **No.**

Anna: You're no fun.

Agent: I've been told that.

Anna: Grr...Ooh! We could play Tic-Tac-Toe!

Agent: As long as it keeps you from singing...

_Some time later..._

Anna: Darn it, another draw! How many time is that now?

Agent: I lost count somewhere around 9000...

Anna: I _knew_there was something about this game that I couldn't remember...

Agent: _Now_can I get some rest?

Anna: Mou...I suppose so.

Agent: Thank you. Wake me in a few hours.

Anna: But how will I-? Sigh, never mind...

_Will Anna and the Agent find an activity to pass the time that they can both agree on? What was the glowing drill thing Anna threw away? What will they eat when that big mutant carcass thing of Anna's is gone? (Is it even edible to begin with?) Tune in next time; same Bat time, same Bat channel. _

Agent: Anna put that down! You don't know where it's been!

Anna: Foolish mortal, you cannot speak to Melon Lord like that! MWAHAHAHAHAHA!

_Let's hope they find a way out soon..._

__/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_

_Anybody catch those Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann references? Anyone? Beuller? _

_So anyways, tell us what you think by leaving a review. Those other authors out there reading this understand, but for those who aren't, let me just say that the right review can totally make someone's day. _

_Well, I'll let Sir Themulchmeister close this out (since it is his story and all...), but first I'd like to thank the Academy, my mom, Santa, my fans, Steve Blum for bringing back Toonami, Crispin Freeman for being the best [censor]mothering vampire EVAR, my lucky sock, my Lego collection, Frisbees, the entire town of Fort Worth Washington, monkeys..._

* * *

><p><span>Well many thanks to The Layman for providing some much needed comic relief for the Second Verse. Hopefully that last one conveniently accounted for the Agent and Anna's fate at the end of the manga too. But seriously all the credit for the omakes in this chapter must go to The Layman, so please take some time to read his work afterwards. I should admit he and my brother have had quite an influence on my own writing style lately.<span>

I would have liked to have tried to translate all of Okamoto-sama's bonus chapters at the end of the first few Manga Volumes but it's quite a painstaking task as it is. So instead, the next omake will be the final one which I've been itching to do for months anyway. Basically I'm gonna have them sing and rock it out in as battle of the bands episode! Hope you'll stick around for it!


	16. FINAL OMAKE: Omake 3: Elf METAL!

Okay this is the third and final of the omakes for Second Verse. I've decided to discontinue trying to translate the 'lost verses' as it is simply too hard and quite restrictive creatively anyway. So if anyone else wants to read those four short stories at the end of the first few volumes of EL Manga, I recommend you start learning some Japanese grammar and buy yourself a Kanji Dictionary and copy of the Manga for yourself (and besides, you should do the right thing for Okamoto-sama and buy his entire EL Manga collection anyway like I did!).

But don't fret. Because this last omake should be much better anyway. I want to finish this long project of mine on a more uplifting note (quite literally) and bring out the final track as a sort of battle of the bands episode (inspired by one of my brother's fanfics and a couple of other Anime's as well). So rack up the volume of your J-pop and Visual-K tunes and enjoy the final omake for Elfen Lied: The Second Verse.

There is just one song I think you should consider during a certain part of this chapter which should become very obvious when it gets round to it...

Anyway this is the song, you should find it or a similar version on Youtube:

Elfen Lied – Lilium (metal version)

Now if I haven't already given the whole premise away, enjoy the final coda!

**Final Bonus Track: Elf Metal (\m/ \m/)**

"Look! Look! Look at this!" Nyu ran into the living room as fast as the enthusiastic pinkhead could as she waved around a small poster in her hands. "A Battle of the Bands is being held in the University this Friday night!"

Kouta rested his cup of tea on the table as he consulted with Yuka. "Sounds like it might be fun to watch some up and coming bands perform eh Yuka-chan?"

Yuka took another sip of tea and sighed. "Hmm, I don't know, those sort of things involve a lot of noise."

"Aww, come on Yuka! I wanna be up on stage in a band!" Nyu chirped with excitement.

"Wait, you want to _perform_?" Kouta said with surprise. "I thought you just wanted to go watch."

Mayu and Nana were also in the room and their ears (or in Nana's case – horns), perked up to the topic of conversation. "Playing on stage sounds like a lot of fun too." Mayu said with a little smile.

"Yeah, I can't play any instruments but I'm sure if I bash something loud enough it'll sound good." Nana added.

"That's the thing though..." Kouta interjected. "None of us know how to play any instruments. We would just be a laughing stock to the audience."

"Aww, but I really-really wanna play in the battle of the bands!" Nyu pouted with her fists raised. Even though she had mentally matured over the Autumn months, she still demonstrated the occasional traits of a person half her age.

"Okay! Okay, settle down we'll work something out." Kouta groaned as he got up onto his feet, playing the typical father role. "So it's this Friday right?"

"Yes." Nyu nodded sharply.

"And today is Wednesday right?"

"Yes."

"Don't tell me you already registered us in the competition."

"Yes."

"And so now we all have to pick up an instrument and learn how to use it, then come up with a song in less than 48 hours for the show."

"Yes."

"Oh okay, well I just had to clear that up then." The life in Kouta's face suddenly left him as he turned away with a sunken expression. Leaning his elbows against a nearby wall he bowed his head underneath his arms. "Yuka help!"

"Hang on how did you sign us all up as a band?" Yuka stood up quite shocked now herself.

"It was easy, I found this stall near the beach with these three guys with strange black and white make-up on handing out flyers." Nyu explained in her innocent carefree manner. "They must have thought I looked really cool because they held the sign up right in front of my face saying I should register." Nyu swung on her hips as she tilted her head in a smile. "I even gave our band a name: Vectorizer. Isn't that awesome?"

"So three strange looking men gave you a sheet of paper and convinced you to join up some competition?" Yuka pressed her hands on her hips.

"Yes! Why do you two ask pointless questions all the time?"

"Hey I just got an idea, Nozomi-chan can be our singer." Nana's eyes lit up in a light bulb moment.

"I think I remember a few notes from piano lessons at school." Mayu added. "So I could play the Keyboard."

"Oh! Oh! Then Nana wants to play the drums!" Nana hopped up and down as she raised her hand. "I heard somewhere that drums are those big noisy things you hit right?"

"I also picked up a Guitar and Bass manual from two cute high school girls in the alleyway on my way back too." Nyu suddenly produced two separate books titled. '_Git__ā__ ga Dekimasu_' and '_B__ē__su ga Dekimasu_' which judging by the bubbly font and colourful pages seemed to be designed for young children learning to play these instruments for the first time.

Ignoring the slight creepiness and weirdness of how she obtained the books Kouta took the Bass one off Nyu. "Well if we're all set to play I may as well take up the Bass. It's easier and less pressuring than Guitar anyway."

"And I can learn guitar myself." Nyu beamed as she held the Guitar book to her chin. Then she frowned when she looked at Yuka. "Oh wait what will Yuka-chan play?"

Yuka grit her teeth as she forced an angry looking smile. "Hehe...Since I have no other choice now...How about the tambourine?"

"Okay~! Then let's just find Nozomi-chan and tell her about our plans!" The eccentric pinkhead raised her fist in the air as they marched upstairs where Nozomi was studying for her Musical exams.

\m/ \m/

MEANWHILE:

Kakuzawa summoned four of his trusted henchmen into his office, with his back facing them he read out a document which had been faxed to him just the other day. "There will be a 'battle of the bands' event at the University this Friday. Apparently these sort of events attract many of the younger generation."

"**So you're saying Lucy might appear at this event?**" One of the Men in the group lifted his shades with a plotting smile.

"There is a high possibility that she may be there." The ageing chief answered with a slight nod. "In order to infiltrate the event however, I will require all of you to enter as performers for this competition."

An almost perfectly synchronised "EEEEEEH?" Came from the four lackeys behind the Chief.

"So first you guys make me work here against my will and _now _you want me to enter some stupid kid's band thing?" The brown haired woman made her protests clear.

"**Hey, we could always have you do a strip tease**." The forest Man chuckled to himself as the woman growled back at him.

"I wasn't hired to perform dog tricks." The third man – rather effeminate looking actually – sighed as he tucked his hands in his dark jacket.

"Me neither? I'm a scientist, not some sort of circus act." The fourth man who was was also quite effeminate in his own way added.

"ENOUGH!" Kakuzawa hushed his detractors with the glare of one eye. "You four _will _enter the battle of the bands and you four _will _perform." He turned his back away from the quartet again as he finished his briefing, "...and you four _will _bring back Lucy."

\m/ \m/

THE NEXT DAY

"_~La-la-la-la-laaah~_" After learning about the competition from Nyu, Nozomi was now exercising her voice box for the upcoming performance. Although Nyu was supposed to be focusing on her brand new guitar, she kept distracting herself by listening to Nozomi's beautiful singing voice. As she quietly strummed a few chords to herself she kept humming a tune in her head, visualising their hit song on stage.

"Gah! Crap I've cut my fingers." Kouta sucked his index finger and thumb after just a short practise session on his bass guitar. "Apart from Nozomi-chan, I'm highly sceptical that any of us will be able to play anything in tomorrow night.

"I dunno, I seem to have mastered the tambourine already." Yuka grinned sheepishly as she gave the instrument a single shake.

DO-DO-DO-DO-DU-DU-DON! The flurry of bangs came from the other corner of the room as Nana broke out a high tempo drum beat. "Woohoo! This is really easy when I use my extra-"

"Nana _shhhh!_" Mayu quickly hushed the horned girl before she could accidentally reveal her secret to the other members of Vectorizer.

"So anyway, Nyu." Kouta called out as he stuck a band-aid on his finger. "Have you any idea what song you want us to play on the night?"

The rocker Diclonius lifted a finger to her chin, her eyes rolling to and fro as she worked out a small melody in her head. "Yes, I think I just came up with something."

\m/ \m/

Arakawa shuddered as she stared at the dress hanging in her locker, well at least what ever little material it was made up of that could constitute is as a 'dress'. She made an odd grimace as she held up the tiny two piece in front of her, referring to the mirror as she held it over her labcoat. "I am _not _wearing this..."

"**But if you don't the Chief will get angry**."

"KYAH!" Flying backwards and crashing her head into her desk, she stared as the Unknown Man virtually grew out from behind the locker. "H-How long have you been in here?"

"**Oh I never left.**" The Man answered quite unashamedly. "**I must say you're very lyrical in your sleep.** **Mostly, 'ooh' and 'aahs' but a performance in progress nonetheless.**"

"DON'T LISTEN TO ME WHEN I'M ASLEEP YOU MAJOR CREEP!" Arakawa threw a pile of random papers in the perverted Man's face as she displayed a fanged snarl. "And is this what you expect me to where tomorrow night?" She waved the ridiculously revealing top over her desk.

"**I think it's quite nice. They always say less is more...And the more less we go the far more praise we will receive from the gawking masses hehe!**" The Unknown Man rubbed his hands together showing his messed up vision.

"We're supposed to be finding Lucy! Not start up a strip joint!" Arakawa barked back.

"How are you two going with the preparations?" The two blondes tapped on the doorway. "We've already set something up with the clones so you two are on your own."

And as they left earshot, the female scientist sighed a small cloud of steam. "I hope they at least have shower facilities at the venue."

\m/ \m/

THE DAY FOR BATTLE (GRAH!)!

\m/\m/

The auditorium was packed to the very last row. Wherever there was floor space, it was soon filled by two feet until the carpet was painted in a complete mass of punked out undergrad students (and a few keen oldies as well). This was not the place for the faint hearted or those with body odours volatile enough to take down anyone within a seven metre radius.

Arakawa kept herself quarantined backstage whilst the other acts made their last minute preparations.

"Terrible news!" Yuka almost collapsed through the door as she burst into Vectorizer's change room. "Nozomi's gotten Laringitis and can't sing tonight!"

The Maple Inn gang all shared anxious glares at each other. "Why does Murphy's Law always apply during the worst possible time?" Kouta said, not realising the joke he had just made there.

"We'll have to find a new singer now." Mayu piped up worrisomely.

"But none of us know how to sing," Yuka cried out. "We might just have to-"

"I'll do it." Nyu raised an enthusiastic arm in the air. "I'll sing in Nozomi-chan's absence."

Kouta and Yuka both shook their heads. "Can you really pull it off Nyu-chan?"

"Un~!" She beamed. "I've practised with Nozomi-chan in the past haven't I?"

"I thought you were just practising your chest massage technique on her instead." Kouta grumbled before Yuka added a mochi sized lump on his crown.

"Hey guys!" Kindly making her precense known was Mayu's classmate Mio. "Good luck with your performance tonight. I can't wait for it! I'm sorry I can't stay but the first act's about to start."

"'Kay bye Mio." Kouta and the others saw the little headband wearer off with a wave. "Hey maybe we should check out some of the other acts too – you know to lighten the tension perhaps."

"Un! Let's go!" And with that Vectorizer departed the change rooms to enact the first stage in the battle: reconnaissance.

\m/ \m/

"They were alright." "Hmm, bunch of amateurs I guess." "They stuffed up on the vocals." Soon enough, Kouta felt like he was a fully fledged Music critic, judging all the backyard bands that formulated the first few acts of the night. Vecotizer's morale was slowly bolstering...

Then it was time for the next act...

"Everyone give a warm welcome to the next band who came all the way from Sakuragaoka Girl's High School: Hokago Tea Time!"

Judging from the large applause then Maple Inn mob began to waver their doubts. "They must be well known around campus."

"Oh I saw them near the beach the other day!" Nyu hopped up and down like an overstimulated fangirl when she recognised the five faces on stage.

"Hey guys, we're going to play just one of our many hits for you tonight. You can buy our Album in the foyer when you leave." The band's MC talked with quite an airy voice. "Our faces are on the cover of the CD, hehe, I came up with the idea for the picture the other day when we were sitting down and Ritsu said-"

"Yui, '_opstay_' on the whole '_antray_'" The black haired Bass player hissed over from the left side of the stage.

"Oh sorry Mio-chan." Yui giggled at herself. "Okay, let me introduce ourselves, playing on the drums is Ricchan, well actually her name is Ritsu but we like to call her Ricchan because it sounds kinda cute. Mugi-chan is on the Keyboard, well sorry her name is Tsumugi but we like to call her Mugi-chan coz it sounds kinda cute too. On rhythm guitar is Azu-nyan who is really Azusa but we like to call her Azu-nyan because it's cute and because this one time we had her wear cat ears and she really suited them so we decided to call her-"

"AHEHEHEHEM!" Ritsu and Mio cleared their throats very, very loudly in order to get their airhead Lead to get to the bloody point!

"Oh and Mio-chan plays Bass and my name's Yui and I do Lead. Okay hehe, I got a little carried away in time there, normally I try to cut down my intro speech because I tend to get sidetracked and start talking to the audience when we're supposed to be pl-"

"AHEHEHEHEHEKUGHKUGHHEEURGH!" The Drummer and Bassist spluttered out another sick throat clear as Yui finally sorted herself out and finished her rant.

"Hehe sorry, I guess we've used up half our time already, so here's the short version of Light and Fluffy Time!"

\m/\m/

TWO MINUTES LATER:

"We're..."

"Screwed..."

The audience erupted in standing ovation for the five high-schoolers as they left the stage. Their performance generated the most applause so far. Mio's Bass plucking, Ritsu's swift drum fills and Tsumigi's melody combined with Azusa and Yui's riffs and the cherry on top of the icing came from Yui's spectacular vocals which resonated an air of true bliss with the crowd who'd otherwise go for the more Heavy and Rougher sounds than their genre.

"Well maybe we can still come second." Yuka suggested with a very forced smile just as the next few acts came along. Soon that smile was gonna need to be stapled in place as the next several acts proved anything but confidence boosters.

Wearing nothing but a tape thin outfit around her chest and waist, the stinky woman and her Unknown companion performed a touching duet.

"~You've got a friend in me~"

"**~You've got a friend in me!~"**

"~No you've got a friend in me!~"

"**Just remember what your Master said, sex slave you've got a **_**freiiiind **_**in **_**meeeee!**_**"**

"Funny I don't remember the lyrics going like that..." Kouta mused from the bipolar audience; half attracted to to science lady's exhibition but half repelling from her swampy fragrance.

\m/ \m/

After Dr. Nousou conducted his choir of clones to perform the Ride of the Valkyries with the Agent reluctantly beating a drum, Vectorizer's hopes and dreams were being torn to meaty shreds by the second.

"MWAHAHA, Now my pretties! Forthwith the climax!" Like a crazed maniac, Nousou's arm swayed in spasmodic rhythms as he raised the noise in the room to near glass shattering levels.

"Anyone else notice how all those choir girls have horns and pink hair like Nyu." Kouta whispered out an obvious point but found no confirmation for himself.

"WOW!" The audience trebled their applause for the Mariko Clone Choir as invisible shoulder slaps were going all around for the pink haired troupe.

"Well done my children, you each get one pocky stick for desert tonight." Nousou said as he gathered the swarming clones around.

"Yay! Yay! Can we have a spoon of ice cream and a pinch of sugar too" Some of the clones hopped with delight.

"Alright, but no half a French Frie from McDonalds on the way home!"

"AWW!"

\m/\m/

"_BOOO!" _Well maybe Kouta and the gang's spirits received a slight defib boost from the next act.

"~Because you're the only gal for me- HEY PAL YOU THROW THAT RUBBISH UP HERE AGAIN I'LL CRUCH YOU INTO A TINY CUBE!" Needless to say, Bandou's solo act might have been better served to an audience of dolphins; at least they might not have been able to hear his vocals then.

"Aww...Bandou-san!" Mayu seemed to like it though. Division was already running within the Kaede House camp.

Then the second last act of the night...

The lights dimmed and red smoke filled the stage as three demons rose from the curtains. All three of them clad in various armour and corpse paint; one of them was a fat bloke with tall blonde hair on the drums; wielding the Bass in his armoury of doom was a tall slim man with a blonde wig. But the leader of the demonic clan radiated the most terrifying aura of them all. Draped in a long purple cape and with the Kanji for 'KILL' painted on his forehead, the trio of brutality was finally here on stage.

"OH MY GOD IT'S THEM! IT'S DMC! IT'S DMC!" Now the audience chanted for their true Lord and Master of the stage as the act they had all been waiting for finally arose from the Phoenix's ashes backstage or something like that...

"**Hey you dogs! Did you all come here just to hear us play?**" The leader growled down at his minions.

"YEAH GO KRAUSER!" A few metalheads shouted their support from the back.

"**You worthless piles of sh[bleep], are you ready to get [bleeped] in the [bleeper] with my [bleep] of [bleep]!-?-!-?"**

"F[bleep] YEAH!" His minions shouted back.

"Who's DMC?" Yuka consulted with her cousin who had not even half a clue more knowledge of this band than the poor brunette had.

"**Hey, this guy's stealing all my bold text.**" Behind the fourth wall, The Unknown Man frowned.

"Um...Shouldn't we have found Lucy by now?" The Agent added whilst Nousou took care of all the rowdy Mariko's in the background.

"Phew, I can't wait to get this horrible outfit-WHAUGHAGH!" Before Arakawa could vent her relief, a pale hand grabbed one of her tight straps from behind the stage. "OHMYGODWHEREAREYOUTAKINGME!-?"

Holding the poor scientist in one hand, Krauser growled to his followers again. "**What do you say, should we sacrifice this [bleep] to our demon Lord?"**

"NO please don't!" Arakawa squeaked up at him. "I'm a scientist! I'm too smart to be a virgin sacrifice!"

"**SHUT UP SLAVE TO THE CAPITALIST PIGS OF THE WORLD!" **Krauser spat his venom down onto the helpless science lady's face (well at least she got a bit of that shower she was yearning for right?) "**Alright guys are you ready to raise some hell!-?-?"**

"YEAH!"

"NOOO" Arakawa seemed to be the only 'nay' at that moment, but alas majority rules even in the demon world..

As DMC tore into their song, Nyu suddenly felt inspired by their very touching lyrics.

"**KILL! KILL! RAPE! RAPE! KILL! KILL! RAPE! RAPE! RAAAAAAPE!"**

"Nyu are you okay?" Suddenly Nyu lowered her head as her eyes became hidden in shadow. Her arms slumped to their sides loosely as Kouta tapped her shoulder. "Are you alright? Is this all getting to you too much?"

Suddenly Kouta straightened up as he felt a touch as cold as ice rub down the back of his neck. Nyu lifted her head as her eyes focused on the stage.

"We're ready now..." She uttered in a low voice.

"You mean right now? But those guys are still-"

"**Right **_**now!**_**" **Kouta reeled back when he saw into those blood red eyes of Nyu's. Something had suddenly caused Nyu to change. "Come on let's go." As she grabbed Kouta's wrist the others followed in their confusion as they weaved through the crowd of DMC minions.

"Kyah! I don't want to get married to the son of Satan!" Arakawa protested as a bunch of minions tried to slip a nice wedding garment on her, complete with blood stains and burn marks.

"**Hehe, soon you will be my demon bride and we will make thirty little hellspawns together MWAHAHA!"**

"NOOOO!"

"Hey you move over. It's our turn now," Lucy stated as she climbed onto the stage; her highly nervous bandmates nervously following suit.

"**Oh and who are you pink haired maiden?**" The Metal God inquired in his evil tone.

"I will be your death if you don't take yourself off this stage in about five seconds."

_Oh my God that's Lucy! _Arakawa expressed in her thoughts as she looked up at the terrifying pink haired presence.

"BOOOOO! PISS OFF WOMAN!" Heavy jeers had now been summoned form the crowd as the chaos and confusion persisted. "WE WANT DMC! WE WANT DMC! WE WANT DMC!"

_Oh buttersticks, I hadn't planned for an audience member to interrupt our show...What if she really does plan to kill me! _Meanwhile, Lord Krauser, Prince of Darkness, was having a battle within his own consciousness.

"Hey there she is!" The Agent discovered Lucy from behind the curtains after he went and checked what all the commotion was about. "Tell Kakuzawa we have found Lucy."

"Hang on just a few minutes." But Nousou raised a hand over the blonde Agent's mouth. "I'd like to see how this plays out."

"**Ok Miss. If you think you can raise some hell with this crowd then I'll grant you my own axe to perform the ritual.**" As Krauser handed over his axe he furled his cape once more. "**But be warned, if you fail to engorge the masses, they will burn you at the stake!**"

"Gee Nyu-chan can we just buy their CD and be out of here." Kouta shook on stage nervously as he was passed a Bass from DMC's Bassist.

"Cool drums!" Nana would have jumped straight on the fat DMC drummer's lap if he hadn't moved of the pink haired missile's way just before she impacted with the throne.

And so with Mayu finding HTT's discarded keyboard nearby and Yuka with her trustee tambourine, Vectorizer was finally ready to get everyone raising those Diclonius horns.

"Just do what we practised. " Nyu grumbled far more aggressive sounding than her normal self. And so as the lights went down and DMC stood just to the side of the stage; and with Kakuzawa's henchmen on standby, the arena was set for the grand finale.

Lucy grabbed the mike stand. _"#Okay everyone, we're Vectorizer and we're going to perform Lilium by Yukio Kondo...#"_

After a short piano intro by Mayu, Lucy quickly brought the song in with some heavy chugging supported by Kouta's smooth Bassline. Nana quickly broke into her drum fills with some rapid smashing on those skins thanks to her invisible arms. Yuka also looked quite mental on that tambourine. But it was the front member who was truly possessed by the music at that point, her hair virtually standing up as her eyes flared with Hade's inferno. She uttered a tremendous growl before she tore into the lyrics

"_**~GRAAAAAAAOOOWWW! **__**The mouth of the just shall meditate wisdom~**_

"_**~And his language shall be spoken in judgment~"  
><strong>_

"_**~Blessed is he who suffers temptation~"  
><strong>_

"_**~Since he, with approval, shall receive the crown of life~  
><strong>_

"_**~Lord, fire divine, have mercy~"  
><strong>_

"...Crap, she wins. She can keep the guitar too." Scurrying away from the stage was the supposed Demon Lord Krauser, wiping away the corpse paint and sweat trailing down his brow.

"_**~Oh how holy~"**_

_**"~How serene~"  
><strong>_

"_**~How kind~"  
><strong>_

"_**~How pleasant~"**_

"Shit, that horned bitch can really hold down a tune." Bando noted from behind the stage, his trusty 50. calibre hanging loosely by his arms. _**  
><strong>_

"_**~Oh, lily of chastity!~"  
><strong>_

"_**~Lord, fire by divine, have mercy~"  
><strong>_

"_**~Oh how sacred~"**_

"**This sound...It's so primal, yet peaceful..." **The Unknown Man tried to act poetic as he even he began to feel moved by something beyond mere vectors. "**I should have her perform for my wedding with the sex slave...**"_**  
><strong>_

"_**~Oh, How serene~"  
><strong>_

"_**~How benevolent~"**_

The solo came in as the song reached it's close. Lucy using her vectors to accomplish some of the more complex and brutal power chords. She grinded that axe like a true metalsmith, pinching and hammering-on with great poise and skill. She was literally playing like a demon from hell and the crowd was certainly on fire at that moment._**  
><strong>_

"_**~How lovely~"  
><strong>_

"_**~Lily of chastity~"**_

…

…

"YEAAAAHH! VECTORIZER! VECTORIZER! VECTORIZER!"

\m/\m/

Nyu and her band Vectorizer's performance went down as the biggest hit of the night. The guys from DMC humbly admitted their defeat at the many invisible hands of the pink haired demon goddess and their manager even offered her a place in their band, but strangely enough Nyu declined the offer claiming she wasn't really sure what she was doing up on stage at the time and it was more of a fluke that they played so well.

Kouta nearly died of a myocardial infarction (douchebag's way of saying a heart attack) after forcing himself to keep his Bassline in pace with Nyu's Lead. But after he scraped out of the performance alive, he felt like he could further his studies of the underrated instrument. From now on, Kouta would earn some dough as a Bass for hire, performing at various venues and striving to follow the legend and become the slobbiest laziest Bass player of all time.

Nana had also taken a huge fascination with the drums after the event, as soon as they left she was eager to take the nearest private chopper back to the facility and show her 'papa' how talented she was. Then she remembered this was the Anime's adaptation and that her 'papa' had already died quite a few months ago actually. Washed up after the band's split up, she ended up working the streets...As a busker of course!

Mayu's excellent keyboard melodies were heard by the Hokago Tea Time girls and they were eager to get the young blackhead to join their school's light music club. Departing the Maple Inn and transferring to Sakuragaoka Girl's High School, Mayu quickly made herself a hot topic amongst the schoolyard, gaining many new friends along the way. Her friend Mio would later join her in a pop idol band with most of their hits used as opening themes for Anime. Wanta would become their band manager; Bando would end up as their cleaner.

'A house can never be too clean,' was the motto Yuka lived by as she remained in the fort atop Kamakura's heights. Her tambourine skills were unfortunately overshadowed by most of the other band members and so never received the recognition and admiration she truly deserved. However she had caught the attention of a marketing agent who visited her one day offering a her a role in Television. She now has her own show on Japan's number one 24 hour infomercial network.

Although she never had the chance to perform with the other's Vecotrizer's original vocalist, Nozomi did in fact manage to pursue her musical career a lot further than her friends, passing the entrance exam with flying colours into Japan's prestige Musical College. At her peak, she was selling out every theatre with crowds in the tens of thousands. But when tragedy struck and she lost her singing voice, she took on the role of a sign-language interpretor for Federal Government Press releases.

Kakuzawa's henchmen had failed in their best opportunity to snag Lucy. Too ashamed and embarrassed to remain in the facility, Dr. Nousou gathered his things and his thousand or so Mariko clones and opened an orphanage just out of town. Finding parents for the many children proved quite problematic since nearly all fostered children ended up killing their parents and neighbouring residents. Dr. Nousou eventually called upon The Agent for help taking care of the ranch and – upon finding out that The Agent was in fact a woman – made the ultimate proposal to her a few years later. They are now a happily married couple with a child of their own: affectionately named Mariko #1134.

After a very unsuccessful stint in the Childcare sector, the Unknown Man (after serving his sentence at home) became a professional Cosplayer at some of the biggest Anime conventions around the world. There was one particular character which he would find himself posing as, in fact he would often boast at the conventions that he was 'the real deal'. Five years later, the Unknown Man would disappear mysteriously without a trace. Rumours said that he may have been sighted at London, but they were mostly dismissed as someone else.

Ms. Arakawa – as the dirty pig of capitalism that she clearly was, took the opportunity to work alongside DMC as their stage prop. Though she would humiliate and defile herself on stage with every gig, it wasn't all that bad. She did get her shower in the end just for the record though.

And as everyone moved on with their lives...The Chief of the research facility seemed to remain the only constant in this world. Even as the staff numbers dwindled and the Silpelits abandoned him, that persistent old tiger remained true to his family name, remaining in his Lebensborn den, with a pick held in his teeth as he tuned an old Mason Acoustic.

"Now, let's see if I can get Smoke on the Water on the nine-thousand-and-eighty-ninth attempt." He declared as he pulled a knee up on a small boulder. "Dr-Dr-Drrrr-Dr-Dr-Duh-Drrr-Dr-Dr-Drrr-Duh-Dee-oh no good contraption you are!"

"~_**Papa, can Anna play?~**_**" **Calling out from the pond nearby the giant brain blob monster called out in keen interest.

"No! But if you want, you can provide me ambient background noise by blowing some bubbles underwater."

Needless to say, Kakuzawa never really accomplished Smoke on the Water...

Lucy never returned to his side either.

**\m/ THE ^\/^ END \m/**

* * *

><p><em><strong>And that folk brings us to the official close of Second Verse, a project which I embarked on more than six months ago. With this, I can finally sign off on what has been a truly successful fanfic, with many reviewers, favourites and subscribers (and it even got its own endorsement on TV tropes and the Elfen Lied wiki). <strong>_

_**A quick thanks to Gojirob who has recently taken a following to this series. If you don't know who Gojirob is then you clearly don't read much EL fanfiction or have seen the Wikis as he pretty much owns the fandom of this series in my opinion. His knowledge and passion for anything with pink hair and horns surpasses my own. So to have this story given the tick of approval by him is a truly great honour indeed! **_

_**A brief thanks to the following authors: wolman6696, Dr. Psyche, Nswisher1572, Fros7Fir3, Bunny153539 and everyone else who reviewed, favourited or subscribed to this story. This story would be nothing without its followers and fans and I applaud you for taking the time to read this fanfic.**_

_**Lastly, but definitely NOT least, how could I possibly finish this note without lending a huge thanks to none other than The Layman, my partner in crime for this 13ep adaptation. He was more than just a beta reader for this story, he has significantly influenced my writing and given me plenty of ideas and inspiration along the way – not to forget the constant reviews and critiques too. **_

_**Though this story must now end, our partnership shall hopefully continue as we switch roles for one of his latest projects**_ Elfen MENT**_. I urge everyone to go and check out and support The Layman's own Elfen Lied project and I hope it offers you as many laughs as mine did in offering you cries or head scratching. _**

_**Okamoto-sama, I hope I have kept your brilliant creation alive for another generation. Now could you possibly consider a Second Anime Season?**_

_**This is Themulchmeister, signing off on another Elfen Lied adventure...**_

**'_'_ Sayonara for now!_**


End file.
